Ransomware stock image Providing Clarity In the Wake of U.S. v. Joseph Sullivan: Paying A Ransom To Cyber Intruders Is Not Per Se Illegal, But Corporate Social Responsibility Must Account for CISO Behavior
A CISO's responsibility is to be transparent with General Counsel and the C-suite regarding facts relevant to data breaches, including whether any ransom has been paid.
November 10, 2022 at 03:00 PM
10 minute read
Expert Opinion
In the aftermath of the verdict in U.S. v. Sullivan against the former Chief Security Officer of Uber, Joseph Sullivan, who was found guilty on one count of obstructing a Federal Trade Commission investigation and one count of misprision, i.e., concealing a felony from authorities, there has been a flurry of discourse concerning Chief Information Security Officer accountability for government disclosures and what it might mean for the future of the profession. See U.S. v. Joseph Sullivan (N.D. Cal. No. 20-cr-00337-WHO). This includes both spirited debate and various inaccurate or misleading representations of the facts and issues presented by the case.
This article is co-authored by the designated testifying cybersecurity expert for the government in the Sullivan case, who was not ultimately called to testify but attended every day of the trial and reviewed all of the evidence, and another legal expert familiar with the issues. Together, they seek to provide clarity and guidance.
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