INVESTING IN A CENTRALIZED CYBERSECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE: WHY “HACKTIVISM” CAN AND SHOULD INFLUENCE CYBERSECURITY REFORM
Brian B. Kelly
INTRODUCTION ...... 1664 I. CYBERCRIME, HACKTIVISM, AND THE LAW ...... 1671 A. The Current State of Cybercrime ...... 1671 B. Defining Hacktivism and Anonymous’s Place Within the Movement ...... 1676 1. Hacking and Hacktivism ...... 1676 2. Anonymous ...... 1678 C. Current Cybersecurity Law ...... 1683 1. Federal Statutes ...... 1683 2. National Defense Systems ...... 1684 3. State Monitoring Systems ...... 1685 4. International Coalitions ...... 1686 II. CURRENT REFORM PROPOSALS ...... 1687 A. Obama Proposal ...... 1687 B. Republican Task Force Proposal ...... 1689 III. THE CYBERSECURITY REFORM SOLUTION ...... 1692 A. Similarities in the Reform Models ...... 1692 1. Amending Criminal Statutes ...... 1692 2. Data Breach Notification ...... 1694 3. Personnel Recruitment...... 1695 4. Liability Protection ...... 1696 B. Differences in the Reform Models ...... 1696 C. The Rationale for Charting a DHS-Centric Course for Reform ...... 1697 D. Why Congress Should Account for Hacktivism in Reform ...... 1706 CONCLUSION ...... 1711
This Note recommends that Congress draft cybersecurity reform legislation in line with President Obama’s May 2011 Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal, rather than the House Republican Cybersecurity Task Force’s October 2011 Proposal. The former proposal’s emphasis on centralized regulation under the