Code and Conduct: Navigating the CFAA

Overview of Code and Conduct: Navigating the CFAA

Panelists introduce the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and track its evolution, defining the terms needed to understand how it is applied. They outline the seven categories of prohibited conduct and the behaviors each entails, then discuss the damages and penalties for violations and review a recent CFAA case.

What you’ll learn in Code and Conduct: Navigating the CFAA

• Explain the CFAA and its evolution
• Define key terms used in applying the CFAA
• Identify the seven categories of prohibited conduct
• Assess damages, penalties, and recent case law under the CFAA

Curriculum

1. 1. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

   Introduction to the CFAA, its evolution, and key definitions.

   Locked

2. 2. Seven Categories of Prohibited Conduct Under the CFAA

   The behaviors that fall under each prohibited category.

   Video coming soon

3. 3. Violating the CFAA

   Damages, penalties, and review of a recent CFAA case.

   Video coming soon

Your instructors

Daniel B. Garrie

Founder, Law & Forensics; Neutral at JAMS; Faculty at Harvard

Law & Forensics LLC · JAMS · Harvard · Rutgers Law School · Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare

Daniel B. Garrie is the founder and executive managing partner of Law & Forensics LLC, a boutique cybersecurity and forensic engineering firm he co-founded in 2008. He serves as a neutral, arbitrator, and forensic special master at JAMS, focusing on cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, and complex technology disputes, and holds faculty appointments at Harvard and Rutgers Law School. A patented software inventor and prolific author, he is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare and a widely cited authority on computer forensics, eDiscovery, and cyber litigation.

Catherine Castaldo

Partner, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP

Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP

Catherine R. Castaldo is a partner in the corporate and privacy and cybersecurity practices at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP in New York, which she joined in February 2026. She advises clients on cybersecurity and privacy risk management, including incident preparedness and response, data privacy and protection strategy, information security, data governance, internal investigations and regulatory matters, drawing on more than 15 years in the field. She was previously Vice President, Global Chief Privacy Officer and Global Data Protection Officer at Nuance Communications and Global Chief Privacy and Data Protection Counsel at GE Capital. She holds a J.D., cum laude, from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and is admitted in New York and Massachusetts. At Legal Cyber Academy she teaches on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Mark Mermelstein

Attorney, Holmes, Athey, Cowan & Mermelstein LLP

Holmes Athey Cowan & Mermelstein · Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Mark Mermelstein practices at Holmes, Athey, Cowan & Mermelstein LLP in Los Angeles, the litigation boutique that carries his name. His work spans white collar criminal defense, SEC enforcement actions, and complex commercial litigation in technology and healthcare, along with cybersecurity and privacy matters involving trade secret theft, hacking, counterfeiting and data breaches. He leads data breach and incident response efforts and pursues asset recovery for corporate victims of cybercrime, and he has tried more than 20 cases as first chair. He previously practiced as a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Los Angeles, at a white collar defense boutique, and as a public defender. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is admitted in New York and California. At Legal Cyber Academy he teaches on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.