Category «Legal Research»

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 12, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Employees are quietly bringing AI to work and leaving security behind; AI could harm your critical thinking skills. Should that change how you use it?; Device disregard is multiplying digital ghosts across federal agencies; Fake online stores look real, rank high, and trap unsuspecting buyers; and Appeals court strikes down ‘click-to-cancel’ rule.

Subjects: AI, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Education, Financial System, KM, Privacy, Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 5, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Your browser lets websites track you even without cookies; Smart Home Locks: What You Need To Know Before Installing; Patients, providers duped in records-and-payment scam; Google Ordered to Pay $314M for Misusing Android Users’ Cellular Data Without Permission; and Android 16 can warn you if a fake cell tower is trying to spy on you.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Legal Research, Privacy

Changing the Game – Algorithmic Game Theory in Ransomware Negotiations

Ransomware attacks are a growing threat, inflicting significant operational, financial, and reputational damage on organizations worldwide. With attackers exploiting information asymmetry, traditional game theory negotiation strategies are inadequate in minimizing these risks. This paper Jawad Ramal by explores how Algorithmic Game Theory (AGT) can strengthen an organization’s leverage in negotiations by creating adaptive, data-informed strategies tailored to an organization’s specific vulnerabilities and priorities. Organizations face unique challenges during ransomware negotiations, including the unpredictability of the attacker’s behavior, the evolving ransomware landscape, and the limited amounts of useful historical data. AGT addresses these challenges by integrating the organization’s unique data and enabling organizations to simulate potential negotiation outcomes, assess risks, and make informed decisions. Organizations with sufficient financial resources and computational power may be able to implement AGT modeling in-house. However, other organizations that lack these resources might find it more compelling to leverage third-party AGT providers or legal panels. These parties can manage AGT modeling, conduct tabletop exercises, and recommend organizational changes to improve ransomware preparedness. Additionally, AGT model outputs can empower organizations to negotiate more effectively with cyber insurance providers, shifting leverage by demonstrating preparedness and reducing perceived risk.

Subjects: AI, Cybersecurity, Legal Profession, Legal Research

What the Supreme Court ruling against ‘universal injunctions’ means for court challenges to presidential actions

When presidents have tried to make big changes through executive orders, they have often hit a roadblock: A single federal judge, whether located in Seattle or Miami or anywhere in between, could stop these policies across the entire country. But on June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court significantly limited this judicial power. In Trump v. CASA Inc., a 6-3 majority ruled that federal courts likely lack the authority to issue “universal injunctions” that block government policies nationwide. Professor Cassandra Burke Robertson explains how the ruling means that going forward federal judges can generally only block policies from being enforced against the specific plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit, not against everyone in the country.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Federal Legislative Research, Legal Research

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 28, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Scale AI’s Public Google Docs Reveal Security Holes in AI Projects; Judge rules Anthropic’s use of books to train AI model is fair use; US Official Claims DeepSeek Aids China’s Military, Evaded Controls; Who’s guarding the AI? Even security teams are bypassing oversight; and Financial deepfake scams targeted in bipartisan Senate bill.

Subjects: AI, Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email Security, Legislative, Privacy

We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech

State-run health care websites around the country, meant to provide a simple way to shop for insurance, have been quietly sending visitors’ sensitive health information to Google and social media companies, Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca of The Markup and CalMatters found. The data, including prescription drug names and dosages, was sent by web trackers on state exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act to help Americans purchase health coverage. The exchange websites ask users to answer a series of questions, including about their health histories, to find them the most relevant information on plans. But in some cases, when visitors responded to sensitive questions, the invisible trackers sent that information to platforms like Google, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. The Markup and CalMatters audited the websites of all 19 states that independently operate their own online health exchange. While most of the sites contained advertising trackers of some kind, The Markup and CalMatters found that four states exposed visitors’ sensitive health information.

Subjects: Big Data, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

3 years after abortion rights were overturned, contraception access is at risk

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated a nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion and returned the authority to regulate abortion to the states. The Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has vastly reshaped the national abortion landscape. Three years on, many states have severely restricted access to abortion care. But the decision has also had a less well-recognized outcome: It is increasingly jeopardizing access to contraception. Physician scientist Cynthia H. Chuang and sociologist and health services researcher Carol S. Weisman study women’s health care and policy, including access to contraception. They see a worrisome situation emerging.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Health, Healthcare, Insurance Law, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, United States Law

Unholy Counsel: Stephen Miller, the Constitution, and the Vampiric Assault on States’ Rights

In this Mostly Lawful deep dive, we’ll examine how Trump (abetted by his most ghoulish advisor, Stephen Miller – basically Trump’s Count Dracula with a law degree and a hate for due process) has clashed with legal limits and states’ prerogatives—earning sharp rebukes from courts, generals, and even some conservatives. Strap in for a journey through Trump’s federalist faceplant, with your expert legal guide Kyle K. Courtney, complete with case law, statutory showdowns, vampires, and a healthy dose of dry wit.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Government Resources, Legal Research, United States Law