Abstracts sought for fall workshop on 'Legal and Policy Dimensions of Cybersecurity'

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Authors are invited to submit abstracts addressing the policy and legal aspects of information security, privacy, data protection, cybersecurity-related legislation, and critical cyber-infrastructure protection for a Penn State workshop on cybersecurity law and policy scheduled for this fall in Washington, D.C.

The invitation-only workshop, “Legal and Policy Dimensions of Cybersecurity,” will be held Sept. 28-29 at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. The event is the 13th in a series of workshops organized by Penn State’s Institute for Information Policy in support of its Journal of Information Policy, published with Penn State University Press.

The workshop is designed to focus attention on the needed legal and policy responses to society’s current cybersecurity challenges. The security of information networks and databases is now a critical element of national security and economic competitiveness. Rapid growth in e-commerce, banking, communication systems, and the internet of things has increased efficiency and driven economic growth, but, by necessity, these systems preclude consumers’ control over how and where their data are collected, archived, and processed. Recent high-profile breaches of security at banks and retailers, coupled with secret and not-so-secret efforts by foreign governments and rogue actors to attack critical information infrastructures, have heightened these concerns.  

The workshop’s keynote speaker is The Hon. Thomas I. Vanaskie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Vanaskie, an adjunct professor at Penn State Law, is one of the most prominent federal jurists in developing the United States Courts’ information and technology policies. He is the former chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference Information Technology Committee and presently serves on the Third Circuit Judicial Council’s Information Technology Committee as well as the Space and Facilities Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for all United States Courts.

Abstracts of up to 500 words and a short bio of the author(s) should be submitted by email to pennstateiip@psu.edu by July 25. Submissions should include “IIP_CYBERSECURITY: [SUBMITTER’S NAME]” in the subject line of the email. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by August 15 and must submit their completed papers by Sept. 19. Each author will be allotted an hour for presentation, response, and discussion. Respondents will be assigned to each paper from the local academic, policy, and advocacy communities.

“Legal and Policy Dimensions of Cybersecurity” is sponsored by the College of Communications, the College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State Law, and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, with organizational assistance from the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.