Skarp
Global Cybersecurity Law and Regulatory Landscape
This course surveys the major cybersecurity and privacy laws shaping practice today across the U.S., EU, APAC, and Latin America. You will compare core legal standards such as reasonable security, security-by-design, and accountability, and learn practical methods to track, interpret, and operationalize emerging regulations and guidance.
Course Content
10 modules · 2h 20m total
Module 1: Mapping the Global Cybersecurity Law Landscape
Introduce the main regions, legal sources, and regulatory actors that shape today’s cybersecurity and privacy environment, and build a mental map for the rest of the course.
Module 2: Core Legal Standards – Security-by-Design, Reasonable Security, and Accountability
Define and compare the foundational standards that recur across jurisdictions and understand how they translate into practical security expectations.
Module 3: U.S. Federal Cybersecurity and Privacy Authorities
Survey the key U.S. federal authorities that impact cybersecurity and data protection, with emphasis on the FTC Act, sectoral laws, and recent federal initiatives.
Module 4: U.S. State Privacy and Data Security Laws
Examine the expanding patchwork of U.S. state privacy and security laws, focusing on common patterns, unique features, and implications for multi-state compliance.
Module 5: GDPR Security, Accountability, and Enforcement
Dive into GDPR’s security and accountability obligations, including risk-based security measures, documentation, and enforcement trends relevant to cybersecurity practice.
Module 6: The EU NIS2 Directive – Sectoral Cybersecurity and Incident Reporting
Explore NIS2’s expanded scope, risk management requirements, incident reporting regime, and the role of management and national authorities.
Module 7: APAC Cybersecurity and Data Protection Frameworks
Survey notable APAC cybersecurity and privacy regimes and highlight how they implement security, incident response, and accountability requirements.
Module 8: Latin American Data Protection and Cybersecurity Regimes
Introduce major Latin American data protection and cybersecurity laws and their security, governance, and enforcement approaches.
Module 9: Cross-Border Data Transfers, Jurisdiction, and Extraterritorial Reach
Examine how major laws assert extraterritorial reach and regulate cross-border data flows, and what this means for cybersecurity compliance strategies.
Module 10: Tracking Emerging Regulations, Guidance, and Enforcement Trends
Develop practical techniques to monitor and interpret new cybersecurity and privacy rules, guidance, and enforcement actions across jurisdictions.
Read the Textbook
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Cybersecurity and privacy have moved from niche IT issues to **core regulatory priorities** worldwide, especially over the last decade.
**Key drivers:**
1. **Massive data breaches and cyber incidents** - Example: Large-scale breaches at major retailers, credit bureaus, and tech companies exposed hundreds of millions of records. - Ransomware has hit hospitals, city governments, and critical infrastructure.