Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Edgar

LL.M Seminar 2045 | 2 credit hours

The advent of cyber conflict involving nation states and non-state actors poses unique challenges for governments, citizens, and the future of the Internet. Governments around the world are adopting a variety of more or less restrictive Internet filtering practices and are creating new institutions to address cybersecurity problems. The U.S. Secretary of State has announced that the “freedom to connect” is an aspect of fundamental human rights, and has criticized countries that attempt to filter or censor the Internet. At the same time, the United States has established a new military command for cyberspace and has appointed the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) as its combatant commander. Congress is considering comprehensive cybersecurity legislation authorizing security monitoring of government networks, strengthening criminal laws, and encouraging information sharing. Despite these efforts, computer systems and networks remain insecure, as sensitive commercial and government data – including classified information – continues to be leaked or stolen at increasing rates. This course will examine the problems confronting the United States and its international partners in addressing network and computer insecurity while upholding privacy, civil liberties and other fundamental values. While technical topics will be addressed, it is not a technical course but a course that examines the public policy challenges associated with a major technology issue. Guests may include computer scientists, military and intelligence officials, and privacy and civil liberties advocates.