New intelligence book provides overview of key national security laws

The top threat to U.S. national security is no longer posed by Russia, China, Iran or North Korea, but by malicious cyber intrusions, said lawyer Andrew Borene at an ABA Committee on Law and National Security event on May 22 to promote the release of “The U.S. Intelligence Community Law Sourcebook 2019 Edition: A Compendium of National Security Related Laws and Policy Documents.”

The sourcebook, first published 10 years ago, focuses on the U.S. Constitution and the laws, executive orders and policies that govern the activities of the U.S. intelligence community. Borene, program director for Homeland Security at George Mason University Law School’s National Security Institute and senior director of Symantec’s Federal National Security Group, edited the book with fellow national security lawyers Adam Ross Pearlman and Harvey Rishikof, chair of the ABA group’s advisory committee.

The book includes resources for national security lawyers — as well as judges, legislators, congressional staff members, journalists and the public — and compiles the exact language of all statutes and executive orders related to national security law, Rishikof said.  

“In Congress, there’s a lot of discussion about how to affect new change in the statutes” related to cybersecurity and how to protect American interests, he said.  The sourcebook demonstrates the evolution of how Congress has grappled with these issues and how the frameworks and laws have been built.

“The U.S. Intelligence Community Law Sourcebook 2019 Edition: A Compendium of National Security Related Laws and Policy Documents” is available at shopABA.org. 

Related links:

• ABA Journal: “Two U.S. law firms lost over $117K to international cybercrime network, indictment alleges”
• “The ABA Cybersecurity Handbook: A Resource for Attorneys, Law Firms, and Business Professionals, Second Edition”
• National Security Now podcast, featuring an interview with Andrew Borene and Harvey Rishikof