Summary:

“What constitutes a cyber attack subject to the Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC)?” asked Jody Westby, Esq. during her presentation “The Legal Framework for Geo-Cyber Stability.” Daniel Morgan Graduate School (DMGS) was pleased to host Ms. Westby on July 26, 2018 as she discussed the most noteworthy cyber attacks involving nation state activity and described the current international legal framework as it applies to the cyber domain.

Westby defines “Geo-cyber stability” as “the ability of all countries to utilize the Internet for both national security purposes and economic, political, and social benefit while refraining from those activities that would cause unnecessary suffering and destruction.” She argues that the frequency and capabilities of cyber attacks currently occurring means that government systems, military networks, and business operations are at constant risk and that additional international laws and rules of conduct are required for stability upon which private citizens can rely. Ms. Westby concludes that, “The cyber context is going to drive a very important discussion in which we need to stay involved.”

Faculty, students, and guests of DMGS were able to participate in a Q&A with Ms. Westby after her presentation concluded. Questions were asked concerning her views on topics such as how the collapse of the Westphalian state system will affect established international norms and the limitations of LOAC when it comes to terrorist organizations and third-party non-state actors. After the event, attendees were able to discuss the presentation and network with national security professionals at a special reception hosted in the main lobby of DMGS.

Speaker Bio

Jody R. Westby, Esq. draws upon a unique combination of more than twenty years of technical, legal, policy, and business experience to provide consulting and legal services to public and private sector clients around the world in the areas of privacy, security, cybercrime, breach management, and IT governance. She also serves as Adjunct Professor to the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Computer Science and is a professional blogger for Forbes.

Ms. Westby is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. She serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Privacy and Computer Crime Committee (Science & Technology Law Section) and Cybercrime Committee (Criminal Justice Section) and is serving a third term on the ABA President’s Cybersecurity Task Force. She co-chaired the World Federation of Scientists’ (WFS) Permanent Monitoring Panel on Information Security and served on the ITU Secretary-General’s High-Level Experts
Group on Cybersecurity.

Ms. Westby led the development of the International Toolkit on Cybercrime Legislation and is an editor and co-author of the 2010 WFS-ITU publication, The Quest for Cyber Peace. Ms. Westby is co-author and editor of four books on privacy, security, cybercrime, and enterprise security programs and author of two books on legal issues associated with cybersecurity research, all published by the ABA. She speaks globally on these issues.

Previously, she launched In-Q-Tel, was Senior Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was Senior Fellow and Director of IT Studies for the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and was Director of Domestic Policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Westby practiced law at Shearman & Sterling and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. B.A., summa cum laude, University of Tulsa; J.D., magna cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center; Order of the Coif. Ms. Westby is a member of the American Bar Foundation and the Cosmos Club.