Patriot Act & Homeland Security Act and Cyber Crime

Prior to beginning work on this discussion read the Fong and Delaney (2013) (Links to an external site.) article and the Mitchell and Pate online resource (Links to an external site.).

The destruction of the World Trade Towers, the attack on the Pentagon, and the crashing of Flight 93 in September 2001 changed the ways in which the United States sought to protect itself from enemies and criminals, both foreign and domestic. The two landmark criminal justice federal laws enacted after the attacks were the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act (HSA). This week our discussion examines both the Patriot Act and the HSA and their applications to cyber crime investigations. Students will explore provisions of both Acts and explain how they assist in cyber-crime deterrence and prosecution.

Your initial posts will be divided into two groups. Please see the instructions below to determine which topics you must include in your 400 word minimum initial post.

Last names beginning with the letters A through L
Address the following issues in your initial post:

• Explain the major provisions of the Patriot Act which assist the U.S. government in deterring cyber crimes.
• Point out at least one example of how the Patriot Act can be used as an effective tool in investigating cyber crimes.
• Evaluate whether or not the Patriot Act violates traditional notions of privacy found in the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
• Critique whether or not the Patriot Act is the most effective way to deter and prosecute cyber crimes.
• Suggest alternative methods and provide solutions for the federal government to more effectively combat cyber crime

Required Resources

Articles

Aldrich, R. W. (2000). Cyberterrorism and computer crimes: Issues surrounding the establishment of an international legal regime (Links to an external site.). INSS Occasional Paper 32: Information Operations Series. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwj_yvuA-ZbkAhWDNX0KHddDDZsQFjAAegQIABAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpdfs.semanticscholar.org%2F48fa%2F85c336cfabcd3a56c3de4068c46cd33af7ee.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1ADr-Q0lStq1LU2P1lBT-6

• Electronic information, data storage and national security electronic reliance create an ominous threat to the increasingly information-based economies of the world’s leading countries. This article explains that the United States, with its highly networked infrastructure, is perhaps both the most powerful and the most vulnerable nation for cyber attack.

Fong, I. K. & Delaney, D. G. (2013). America the virtual: Security, privacy and interoperability in an interconnected world: Leap-ahead privacy as a government responsibility in the digital age (Links to an external site.). American University Law Review, 62(5), 1131-1143.

• The full-text version of this article is available through the EBSCOhost database in the UAGC Library. This transcription from a speech transcript of a keynote speech which was delivered by former General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Ivan K. Fong and Deputy Associate General Counsel of the DHS David G. Delaney in October 2012 explains the need or the Department of Homeland Security to be continually vigilant and inventive to prevent and investigate cybercrimes in a rapidly changing technological world.

Kerr. O. (2012, January 23). What’s the status of the Mosaic Theory after Jones? (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://volokh.com/2012/01/23/whats-the-status-of-the-mosaic-theory-after-jones/

• This article explains the latest status of 4th Amendment privacy issues as issued by the United States Supreme Court.
  Accessibility Statement does not exist.
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

Smith, L. E. (2013). Jonesing for a test: Fourth Amendment privacy in the wake of United States v. Jones (Links to an external site.). Berkley Technology Law Journal, 28. Retrieved from http://btlj.org/data/articles2015/vol28/28_AR/28-berkeley-tech-l-j-1003-1036.pdf

• An examination of whether or not the evolution of surveillance technologies over the last few decades has rendered the 4th Amendment right to privacy null.

Multimedia

Greco, J. I. (Writer), & Halper, A. (Producer). (1997). Privacy protection in today’s society (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. In Privacy and Security-A Fred Friendly Seminar. Retrieved from https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=10469&wID=100753&loid=5784&plt=FOD&w=420&h=315&fWidth=440&fHeight=365

• The full version of this video is available through the Films on Demand database in the UAGC Library. This short, three-minute video explains the notion of the right to privacy being a part of the Founding Fathers’ intent for the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, even if the word “privacy” cannot be found in the document.
  Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

KnowledgeAtWharton. (2012, December 6). Security expert Amos Guiora: “Cyber terrorism poses an enormous threat” (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/-zzNtjxo-bk

• This 17-minute video examines the threats of cyber crime and evaluates whether or not the United States could experience a “Pearl Harbor-like” surprise, electronic attack.
  Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

Web Pages

Mitchell, J., & Pate, J. (2003, April 1). The Department of Homeland Security: Goals and challenges (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/homeland-security-goals-challenges/

• This we page provides basic information about the Homeland Security Act: the reason for its creation, its implementation and goals and challenges the Department of Homeland Security faces to carry out its multi-functional purpose.
  Accessibility Statement does not exist.
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

Recommended Resources

Web Pages

Department of Justice. (n.d.). What is the USA patriot web (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm

• This Justice Department website provides a synopsis of the highlights of the United States Patriot Act.
  Accessibility Statement does not exist.
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

Websites

MSCJ Resources (Links to an external site.) (http://ashford-mscj.weebly.com/)

• This resource site will provide assistance in researching additional sources for the assessments within this course.
  Accessibility Statement does not exist.
  Privacy Policy does not exist.