Campaign supporter Vertical Structure explain their own issues with the CMA

The CyberUp Campaign is very grateful to work with Northern Ireland-based cyber security consultancy Vertical Structure on our efforts to reform the Computer Misuse Act. As part of their efforts to support the campaign, and to highlight the issues they face as a business, Simon Whittaker, CEO of Vertical Structure, and Anna Cartwright, an Associate at Turley Legal, Vertical Structure’s legal counsel, have taken part in a podcast discussion on the topic. The full discussion can be seen below.

As part of the discussion, Anna and Simon discuss the history of the CMA, why the law is now out of date and in need of reform, and Simon’s own brush with the law. They also discuss in detail a case involving the Governor of Missouri who threatened to prosecute a cyber security researcher for a responsible vulnerability disclosure. Simon takes us through what exactly that researcher did, and why – despite widespread mocking of the Governor by the infosec community – we in the UK should not be too quick to criticise while we still have an outdated law like the CMA on our statute book.