Harley Geiger - How hackers can send feedback directly to policymakers

Max Class Size: 70

Abstract:

The first official comments on security policy live from DEF CON. The workshop will show hackers how to go through the process of submitting official comments to regulations and legislation.

Meeting with policymakers is only one way to make your voice heard. There are also formal channels for submitting written feedback on policy proposals that become a critical part of the record for regulations. These channels are open to the public, but non-policy professionals don’t always know how to access or make the most effective use of them.

This workshop will walk security researchers through the process of using regulations.gov and congress.gov to find open opportunities to influence regulations, and actually submit official comments via those channels from the workshop. The workshop will also talk through how to form an advocacy strategy to amplify the impact of the comments - for example, how to find the right policymakers and staff to follow up with.

The workshop will be led by policy professionals with deep ties to the security community.

Skill Level: All Levels

Prerequisites for students: None

Materials or Equipment students will need to bring to participate: To walk through the process and/or submit comments, bring a laptop, iPad, or other connected device you can type on.

Bios:

Harley Geiger is Counsel and Senior Director at Venable, LLP, where he leads the Security Research Legal Defense Fund and the Hacking Policy Council and counsels clients on a variety of cybersecurity issues. Prior to this, Geiger was Senior Director for Public Policy at Rapid7, where he worked to expand adoption of vulnerability disclosure and legal protections for security research. Geiger also worked as Senior Legislative Counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he drafted Aaron’s Law, and served as Advocacy Director at the Center for Democracy & Technology.

Dr. Amit Elazari is Co-Founder and CEO of OpenPolicy, the world first tech-enabled policy and advocacy company, aiming to democratize access to information concerning future regulation action, policy and lobbying to entities of all sizes by leveraging scale and technology. Prior to OpenPolicy, she served as Head of Cybersecurity Policy for Intel Corp and chaired the Cybersecurity Committee for the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) among others. She holds a Doctoral Degree in the Law (JSD) from Berkeley Law, and graduated summa cum laude with three prior degrees in law and business. Her research appeared in leading academic journals, key conferences such as RSAC, Black Hat, DEFCON, Bsides, and USENIX, and was featured at the WSJ and NYT. She co-founded Disclose.io, a non-profit that foster adoptions of legal protections for good-faith security research. Amit has a diverse background in technical, policy, and legal roles, and practiced Hi-tech, Venture Capital, and M&A law at Israel's largest law firm, Goldfarb Gross Seligman & Co.