BOOK REVIEW
CYBER SECURITY
Law and Practice
By Dean Armstrong QC, Dan Hyde and Sam Thomas
ISBN: 978 1 78473 345 2
LEXISNEXIS
Also available as an ebook
www.jordanpublishing.co.uk
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A MUCH NEEDED BOOK ON A SUBJECT WHICH IS STILL NOT BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY ENOUGH
An appreciation by Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers
and Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”
Cyber security has long been ignored by many people but fortunately we are beginning to see useful changes of attitude as the issue rises up the legal agenda. So we have a new book from LexisNexis and Jordan Publishing entitled “Cyber Security” to explain what this subject is all about.
This book has been written by leading experts in the field: Dean Armstrong QC and Sam Thomas of 2 Bedford Row and Dan Hyde of Penningtons Manches. Its mission is to offer a single point of reference for all those dealing with cyber risk and data protection/management. It is an area where the law faces hugh challenges to keep up with the rapid development of technology, and which has provided opportunities for the misuse of information for commercial gain or other objectives by the unscrupulous.
The authors have striven to focus sufficient content on cyber security and data management because they are now among the biggest issues facing business and other organisations today and we ignore them at our peril.
The worldwide dimension has added a further complexity which is well-covered here. We, as practitioners, know that the law faces huge challenges to keep up with the rapid development of technology which has given some people opportunities for the misuse of computers on a large scale.
This new work covers the vast spectrum of law, both civil and criminal, as it applies to data control, data management and cyber issues. The writers consider the legal implications of internal threats from employees, data mismanagement or inadequate software, together with external threats from competitors or criminals, and looks at practical ways to deal with potential or actual cyber incidents.
It provides a unique, comprehensive coverage, looking at three main areas. The first is Legal Framework - Cyber Crime, the Civil Perspective, Cyber Property, and Employee Liability and Protection.
The second are Data Issues - Data Security and Protection, Control Mechanisms for Embedded Devices, Data Breach Responses, Commercial Espionage.
And the third are Practical issues - Investigative Powers, Litigating and Rules of Evidence, Immunity and the locus and status of the perpetrator, Remedial steps and mitigating the loss.
The work concludes by looking at the potential impact of ‘Brexit’ on data management and control and the significance of the impending General Data Protection Regulation.
This valuable new resource is a single point of reference for legal practitioners including Counsel, solicitors, in-house lawyers, compliance officers and those dealing with cyber risk and data protection/management not only as it affects corporations but also other entities, individuals and States. We feel it will also be of wider interest to legal support staff and the general public because of the importance of the subject where cyber-attacks take a multitude of forms.
As the authors say, they acknowledge the novel and developing nature of law in this area as a challenge and are honest enough to say that, when considering prosecutions, their approach so far is no more than “a sticking plaster” given the situations where it’s impossible or impractical to prosecute. That means the international perspective where some states are either perpetrating or aiding breaches of cyber-security.
For this reason alone, the book now takes attacks on computers and the online environment with the seriousness it deserves after too many occasions when the issues have been brushed under the carpet.
The publication date is 2017 and the law is as at 1st February 2017.
