The Legal Landscape of Cybersecurity: Protecting Digital Assets

Legal Article by - BAIMANTIKA BISWAS (This Article was written by her during her Internship)

Abstract

In this emerging digital era, we are living in, protecting personal, professional, organizational, national and international assets are of utmost importance right? Cybersecurity is defined as the bodyguard to the stuffs we all have but with everchanging evolution to the cyber security threats are making it hard for the laws to curb its outrage. With the help of knowing the exact position of the cybersecurity laws, regulative structures and the occurring struggles to maintain a proper balance to security and privacy. As it is truly very much important to have a broad study upon the cybersecurity laws and their potency in order to safeguard the digital assets that’s totally based online.

Introduction

Having easy access to the numerous technological gadgets made it more prone to the online threats and challenges and cybercriminals to attract. So in order to minimize the threats that can be caused online, it has become an significant duty for the government to make laws, rules and regulations stricter to protect the digital assets of each one us. Though the potential of these cybersecurity are always being tested with the rapid evolving cyber threats so that the laws never falls behind in the race of crimes happing around and can provide with the better security to our digital assets. In this article we are just about the examine the laws, the legal frameworks, with some touch of history with the present situations in order to meet the aim of writing this article and understanding actual legal landscape we have and we used to have to protect our digital assets.

Present Scenario of Cybersecurity Laws

The scenario or the landscape of the cybersecurity laws are actually much extensive in nature, with national, international and varied state level laws. The United States got the federal laws like the Federal Information Security Modernization Act or FISMA and the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act or CISA in order to mark down the basics to keep the digital assets secure. And after that the more sterning laws came to existence like the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA and the New York Department of Financial Services Cybersecurity Regulations or NYDFS.

Moreover, it’s not just the United States, the European Unions had also came up with the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR to make a remarkable configuration for securing the assets balancing to privacy as well as aiming a huge impact on the global business markets. Many other countries such as Japan, Canada and Australia are also looking forward to catch-up with their own cybersecurity laws to protect their online or digital assets from this ever-evolving cybersecurity threats.

Proficiency of Cybersecurity Laws

Now, the question arises how the laws are actually efficient to meet the goals? This has always been as a topic of debate. Though these laws have certainly made companies to draw more attention to safeguard the assets to maintain a healthy public to the digital and online platforms. Like for now the GDPR raised remarkable awareness worldwide for the betterment of data protection, that has led to cybersecurity practices minimizing the substantial fines for non-compliance.

Let’s not forget that the cybersecurity threats are ever evolving and internet too has no borders. These cybercriminals are also smart enough to enact different tactics in order to find out loopholes in the varied significant jurisdictions in the various legal frameworks. Therefore, the laws should become more efficient in order to the aim curb this rapid changing of threats to the digital stuffs. At this point, we all should come forward and understand the necessity of cybersecurity regulations for the sake of their own assets. Threats in Safeguarding Digital Assets

1. The Ever-evolving Cyber Threats Scenario

These cybercriminals are always popping with new ways of creating troubles in order to maintain their terror in the minds of the users. But, the more alarming is the repid change in the threats are challenging the cybersecurity laws a lot, making it hard enough for the legal frameworks to chase the pace of the cyber threats. New ways to curb the threats are always a matter of discussion. After of observing the ransomware, phishing attacks, and advanced persistent threats (APTs) showed us all the speedy evolution of the threats by the masterminds cyber criminals. Our government in the nationals as well on the international levels are always struggling to curb such threats by trying to keep the leaks in protection.

2. Stabilizing Security with Privacy

Balancing the security and privacy is like a tug-of-war. It is one of the most important in the concern of the cybersecurity to maintain a good balance of security needs with as far privacy is concerned. Take the laws like GDPR as an example, it’s made for safeguarding the personal and assets from the upcoming threats but can also combat with the frauds in the tabs of security.

3. Making it Obvious that the Rules to be Followed

Honestly, abiding the rules and regulations can be troublesome to many, especially for the smaller organizations who have limited resources. Not only hectic, the expenses to carry out these extensive measures can be barrier to many. Moreover, prosecution of these cybersecurity is hectic that often it may loose its pace with the rapidly evolving cybercrimes. And suppose if any fraud, hacking aur such kinds of disputes truly takes place, then balancing the different jurisdiction and the legal frameworks globally may give birth to a huge digital hindrance,

4. A Framework for Protections and Its Loopholes

The loopholes in the legal structure attracts the cybercriminals from different corners of the world. For instance, the United States, had more stricter laws, while others are not so much stringent. Such a patchwork may result in more complex efforts towards an incident, for the companies to work simultaneously for the better combat against such threats.

5. Technological Evolution

The rise of Artificial Intelligence or AI and various types of quantam computing are no doubt making the world to work easier but also making it more prone to cyber challenges. The Legal infrastructures are still trying to cope up with new vulnerabilities emerging with the increasing benefits of technology for a better cyber secure world.

Modern Legislative Advancements

In response to such increasing and fast evolving cyber threats, the lawmakers around the world are always in a haste to combat such challenges with more advanced laws. In the Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act or FISA delves with the privacy of the national security and privacy concerns. This section permits the government to collect foreign intelligence information for examining and debating upon the privacy and the security matters.

In the year of 2022, got introduced the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act or CIRCIA with smarter infrastructure to inform companies as soon as any mishap happens.

Case Studies and Notable Incidents

The Colonial Pipeline ramosomware attack leading to fuel shortages in the U.S. proved a lot of loopholes in the existing legal frameworks that needs to be mended as soon as possible. This incident forced Biden’s government to work upon more power fetching executive jurisdictions on cybersecurity.

Another remarkable incident took place in the year of 2020, the SolarWinds supply chain attack. This resulted in the improvements of the legislative and regulative changes in the software supply chain, in order to strengthen the software security standards and practices.

Future Outlook

With the speedy advancement of technologies so as the cyber challenges. So in this case, we should look for the future assumptions to fulfil the aim of curbing the cyber frauds and numerous digital crashes. Therefore, the main points for us to focus are:

1. Improved Co-ordination and Information Sharing

Enhanced collaboration, with the private and public sectors, as well as with the national and international borders can affect a lot in fighting against these cybercriminals. Laws introduces like CISA can make remarkable changes towards the improvement of the relations to the international levels.

2. Making of the Easily Available

Legal Patchworks In order to be in the pace with everchanging cybercrimes, it is of utmost importance to have a more easily adaptive and forward- looking legal frameworks to encourage small organizations to help combating together. Also a quicker modifications are necessary to fight against these fast growing threats.

3. Promoting Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Advancement

Mentioning and promoting cybersecurity in the organizations is important for raising awareness about the threats, for a fast workforce advancement in promoting the cybersecurity education and legislative jurisdictions concerning with the security and privacy of our digital assets.

4. Strengthning Cyber Flexibility

Reinforcing and promoting the cyber resilience or flexibility is also of utmost importance for implementing strategies in the business communinities, so that the organizations feels free to adapt security with the assurance of quick recovery.

Conclusion

The legal landscape or the scenario is actually a continuously evolving structures in order to keep pace with the rapid changes in the cyber threats. But also not to forget the remarkable progress are also being made against the cyberbercriminals with varied laws, legislatives and jurisdictions also trying to keep the world together against these crimes. As internet has no borders therefore the enemies to make such frauds are for everybody. Moreover, we are also looking forward to the future to the various laws to minimize these crimes and for the better protection of our digital assets are also being made. Hope, people across the world understands its importance and come forward together for a better future by combating against the cyber challenges.

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