24th Annual McLean Lecture Presented by Luke Dembosky, ‘94
Cyber Law, Policy and Security Issues in the New Age of Nationalism
Tensions and mistrust among nations operating in “cyberspace” have been growing rapidly in recent years, with accusations concerning elections in the U.S. and elsewhere only the latest in a series of high-profile controversies over acceptable boundaries in the digital age. Meanwhile, the magnitude of the risks posed by sophisticated criminal hackers, saboteurs, and terrorist groups now threatens our critical infrastructure, our economies, our privacy and, in some cases, our lives. Against this backdrop, the surge of nationalism reflected by Brexit, the Trump victory, China’s new cyber regulations, and similar movements in other countries has the potential to fuel further mistrust and insular cyber policy on the part of leading nations and regional bodies. The implications are enormous for the open, multi-stakeholder Internet we have enjoyed thus far; law enforcement, military and intelligence cooperation; national security review and policy regarding foreign investments, export control and sanctions; incentives for companies to invest in innovation and global operations; and our economy.
Luke Dembosky, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security and DOJ representative to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow
Luke Dembosky joined Debevoise & Plimpton in March 2016 after serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Justice Department, where he oversaw DOJ’s first national security cyber portfolio. Mr. Dembosky was the senior DOJ official on the Target, Sony Pictures, Home Depot, Anthem and OPM breaches, among many others, and received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for leading the GameOver Zeus botnet takedown. Over 14 years with DOJ, he served in various roles, including as Deputy Chief for Litigation at the Computer Crime and IP Section; DOJ representative at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia; and as a federal cybercrime prosecutor in Pittsburgh. His prosecutions include U.S. v. Max Ray Vision, featured in the books Kingpin and DarkMarket and the first episode of American Greed to feature a cyber case. He participated in the negotiation of a 2013 cyber accord with Russia and the historic 5-point agreement signed by President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China in 2015. At Debevoise, Mr. Dembosky advises companies on managing cyber risks, responding to cyber incidents, and handling related litigation matters. He was recently named by the National Law Journal to its list of “Cyber Security Trailblazers.”
The event will be livestreamed at https://youtu.be/GeUx4bMO_eM