Last updated at Fri, 10 Jul 2020 14:50:14 GMT
Hello! My name is Harley Geiger and I joined Rapid7 as director of public policy, based out of our Washington, DC-area office. I actually joined a little more than a month ago, but there's been a lot going on! I'm excited to be a part of a team dedicated to making our interconnected world a safer place.
Rapid7 has demonstrated a commitment to helping promote legal protections for the security research community. I am a lawyer, not a technologist, and part of the value I hope to add is as a representative of security researchers' interests before government and lawmaking bodies – to help craft policies that recognize the vital role researchers play in strengthening digital products and services, and to help prevent reflexive anti-hacking regulations. I will also work to educate the public and other security researchers about the impact laws and legislation may have on cybersecurity.
Security researchers are on the front lines of dangerous ambiguities in the law. Discovering and patching security vulnerabilities is a highly valuable service – vulnerabilities can put property, safety, and dignity at risk. Yet finding software vulnerabilities often means using the software in ways the original coders do not expect or authorize, which can create legal issues. Unfortunately, many computer crime laws - like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) - were enacted decades ago and make little distinction between beneficial security research and malicious hacking. And, due to the steady stream of breaches, there is constant pressure on policymakers to expand these laws even further.
I believe the issues currently facing security researchers also have broader societal implications that will grow in importance. Modern life is teeming with computers, but the future will be even more digitized. The laws governing our interactions with computers and software will increasingly control our interactions with everyday objects – including those we supposedly own – potentially chilling cybersecurity research, repair, and innovation when these activities should be broadly encouraged. We, collectively, will need greater freedom to oversee, modify, and secure the code around us than the law presently affords.
That is a major reason why the opportunity to lead Rapid7's public policy activities held a lot of appeal for me. I strongly support Rapid7's mission of making digital products and services safer for all users. In addition, it helped that I got to know Rapid7's leadership team years before joining. I first met Corey Thomas, Lee Weiner, and Jen Ellis while working on "Aaron's Law" for Rep. Zoe Lofgren in the US House of Representatives. After working for Rep. Lofgren, I was Senior Counsel and Advocacy Director at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), where I again collaborated with Rapid7 on cybersecurity legislation. I've been consistently impressed by the team's overall effectiveness and dedication.
Now that I'm part of the team, I look forward to working with all of you to modernize how the law approaches security research and cybersecurity. Please let me know if you have ideas for collaboration or opportunities to spread our message. Thank you!
Harley Geiger
Director of Public Policy
Rapid7
@HarleyGeiger
