Page 6 - Cybersecurity

S6 | MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017 | Cybersecurity | NYLJ.COM
Prosecuting Cyber Crime: An Overlooked Part Of Bharara’s Legacy
Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of New York, speaks to a standing-room-only crowd at Cooper Union on April 6, 2017. It was his first public appearance since his ter- mination by President Donald J. Trump.
BY DANIEL L. STEIN
On March 11, 2017, Preet Bharara, then the long-serving U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was abruptly fired by the incoming Trump Administration. Many observers rightly noted Bharara’s substantial accomplishments in the prosecution of public corruption and insider trading. But the Southern District’s efforts
DANIEL L. STEIN is a partner in Mayer Brown’s New York office, where he leads the firm’s global regulatory and investigations group and co-leads the white-collar defense and compliance group. He is the former chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
under Bharara’s leadership to combat the emerging cyber threat appear to have been somewhat overlooked. During Bharara’s ten- ure, the Southern District brought a series of historic criminal cases in the cyber area, which should be included as an important part of Bharara’s impressive legacy.
The cyber threat is, of course, a multi-fac- eted problem. Many cyber security experts focus their efforts, as they should, on nation- al security, privacy, and business continu- ity issues. The Southern District’s recent record in prosecuting cybercrime, however, shows that the criminal law has been, and must remain, an important component of the response to the cyber threat.
Over the past several years, criminal prosecutors have brought notorious cyber criminals out of the shadows, secured lengthy
prison sentences that punish wrongdoers and deter others, and recovered precious assets for victims.
Cyber prosecutions present many chal- lenges, including the need to trace complex trails of digital evidence, to gather evidence in multiple international jurisdictions, and to link actions carried out by computers or code to individual human beings. It is well known that cyber criminals can operate from remote locations, with their identities concealed. Sometimes, the trail runs through an intricate web of masked digital identities. Some have suggested, in light of these chal- lenges, that effective criminal prosecution of cyber crime can’t succeed. The Southern District’s record under Preet Bharara’s tenure proves otherwise.
From early in his tenure, Bharara made
cyber crime a significant priority for the Southern District. The office assigned more prosecutors to focus on cyber crime, worked hard to develop the necessary expertise, and developed strong working relationships with specialized agents at the FBI, Secret Service, IRS, and other law enforcement agencies who were busy trying to infiltrate the criminal side of the web. Through public speaking and writ- ing, and by convening cyber experts from across industry and government for public panel discussions, Bharara worked hard to raise public awareness of the cyber threat, to educate business leaders on protective measures, and to encourage victims of cyber crime to come forward and share information with law enforcement.
The results make clear that criminal prosecution can be effective in » Page S11
DAVID HANDSCHUH/NYLJ