Free Radicals in Cyberspace

Meiring de Villiers

Tuesday 8 June 2004

1:00 to 2:00 pm, including 15 minutes for questions

Room 1042, Level 10, UNSW Law School, Library Stage 2.
Map: http://www.unsw.edu.au/maps/kensington.pdf
Enter via Gate 11 Botany St Randwick.

Abstract:

Free Radicals in physics and chemistry are "free-roaming compounds that bond with trouble."

Free Radicals in cyberspace are characters - such as hackers, spammers, spoofers, virus authors - who do likewise (i.e., roam freely, are legally immune, and bond with trouble).

This talk looks at a these agents, and suggests a theory that would impose liability on individuals who encourage Free Radicals or facilitate their mischief.

We will examine the implications for potentially hazardous acts such as publicising dangerous security vulnerabilities in widely-used software systems.

See also the paper on this topic and
http://stlr.stanford.edu/STLR/Articles/03_STLR_1/index.htm

Meiring de Villiers is a Research Associate of the Centre. He formerly taught Computer and Cyber Law, as well as Mathematical Economics at Stanford. Meiring is a now Senior Lecturer in Law at UNSW. He teaches LAWS 2021 Industrial and Intellectual Property, and LAWS 2024 Commercial Finance at UNSW law school.

His research and teaching interests range across law and economics of information technology, mathematical analysis of law, and application of modern finance theory to problems in corporate and securities law.

Meiring is pleased to live in a country with a winning cricket team.