Democrats and Republicans Seek Federal Jurisdiction Over Cybercrimes by Foreign Actors in DNC v. Russian Federation and Broidy Capital Mgmt. v. State of Qatar

This article examines whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over foreign actors accused of cybercrimes, using two 2018 lawsuits as case studies: the Democratic National Committee's suit against the Russian Federation and Elliott Broidy's suit against the State of Qatar. The authors, Shelly A. Sanford and Meredith Drukker Stratigopoulos, analyze the DNC's claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and Broidy's claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), both alleging that the plaintiffs were maliciously hacked with the assistance of a foreign state.

The authors examine how the availability of enhanced damages under the DTSA turns on a jurisdiction's definition of trade secrets, and how courts' interpretation of Congress's jurisdictional grants under these statutes will shape future cybercrime litigation against malicious hackers, foreign sovereigns, and entities such as WikiLeaks that collect misappropriated data.