Paper Topic Ideas

Paper Topic Ideas and Areas

by John Bandler

This pertains to the course Paper Topic Assignment, to give some ideas about potential paper topics.

This is a general page to cover all of my courses, be sure to follow any specific instructions for your course, and to pick a paper topic relevant to your course.
The first step in finding a paper topic relevant to your course is reviewing the course syllabus and assigned readings
The first step in your research is reviewing, reading, and reading again any relevant materials listed in the syllabus.
This page lists general topic ideas and areas, it is then your job to refine a general topic into a more specific paper title.
All of these areas relate to law, since all of my courses relate to law in some way and most have a strong focus on law. Thus, whatever topic and title you choose, remember to find a legal tie-in. If you are in law school you will focus on the legal angle.
Ideally, you pick a topic that is of interest to you, and even helpful for your future career.
Can't decide or don't know where to start? Let me know well in advance of the due date for the paper topic assignment. I'll give you a topic, then you can get to work on the assignment.
Put in effort and thought and research before choosing and submitting. While it is expected that your titles and topics may evolve and change slightly as your research and writing progresses, topic changes are not allowed.
- Research starts with relevant course materials (not with Google, not with ChatGPT or other tools).
Remember to read the paper topic assignment instructions before submitting.
Again, the paper must be relevant to the course, on a topic covered in the course, and be able to draw from course readings for your preliminary research.

How you can tell what is relevant for your course

The easiest, simplest way to ensure your paper topic is relevant to your course is to read:

The course name
The topics the course covers each week
The assigned reading for each week.

For example, if the course name is "cyberlaw" then your paper should be about "cyber" and "law". Don't forget the "law" angle (I am a lawyer, and that is probably why the school assigned me to teach the course, to teach about law).

Start your research with relevant readings already assigned for the course.

Cyber law related topics, law and cybercrime, cybersecurity, privacy, technology

See the course syllabus to see what the course covers, including topics and assigned reading
See the articles on this website to see if an article covers a relevant topic of interest.
Negligent cybersecurity
- Analyze the elements of a cause of action for "negligent cybersecurity". First consider traditional negligence. The apply it to cybersecurity and evaluate relevant case law. Examine the legal issues and potential factual issues.
Attorney ethical requirements for cybersecurity
Negligent privacy?
Privacy statutory violations
New cybersecurity and privacy laws
After the data breach. Evaluate all legal implications with a focus on costs and potential legal and regulatory actions.
Standards of cybersecurity. What is the legal standard now?. What should it be? What is reasonable cybersecurity? What is negligent cybersecurity? How is this determined?
Analyze the elements of a cause of action for breach of contract regarding cybersecurity. For example, a contract specifies there must be "reasonable cybersecurity". One party sues the other alleging breach of contract for inadequate cybersecurity. Examine the legal issues and potential factual issues.
Contract issues in information technology
How might information security frameworks play a role regarding legal standards of cybersecurity? By frameworks, I mean examples such as: NIST CSF, NIST 800-53, ISO 2700x, COBIT, CIS CSC (top 20)
Cybersecurity Laws and Frameworks: How they Combine to Establish a Standard of Reasonable Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Frameworks and how they can Help Protect from Cybercrime and Comply with Legal Requirements
Examine the various state laws regarding data breaches and notification/reporting requirements and why there is no unifying federal standard. Is this overly burdensome? Should there be a unifying rule?
Challenges and solutions for organizations complying with different laws, regulations, and frameworks relating to cybersecurity and privacy.
Examine cybersecurity regulations and laws, their purpose, evolution, etc.
Are people susceptible to being manipulated through online misinformation, propaganda, lies, or deceptive marketing? What are the current laws to address this? How does this relate to the First Amendment? Who puts out this misinformation? (Nation states, marketers, politicians?)
Nation state cyber operations and attacks, the law and its application.
Privacy rights and privacy policies: Are policies effective to protect privacy, is it possible for users to give knowing consent regarding the use of their data?
Free speech vs. harassment and stalking on the internet and how do we regulate speech on the internet? Discuss free speech vs. civilly actionable vs. criminally actionable.
Jurisdiction in "cyberspace". Examine how each government entity can assert jurisdiction
The NYS SHIELD Act and implementation and enforcement history
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), implementation and enforcement history.
Enforcement of "unfair trade practices" and cybersecurity policies/practices
Enforcement of "unfair trade practices" and privacy policies/practices
Virtual currency (including cryptocurrency) and current laws and regulations.
IS 647 only: Legal duties in creating and administering software, hardware, information systems, etc.
Examine why better cybersecurity will not eliminate cybercrime? The Battle Between Cybercrime and Cybersecurity: Will There Ever be a Winner?
Other ideas?

Cybercrime, cybercrime and cybersecurity (FR undergraduate and graduate)

Why We Can Never Eliminate Cybercrime With Good Cybersecurity
The Western Express Cybercrime Case: Why it [is / is not] a Model for Other Investigations by State and Local Authorities
The Western Express Cybercrime Case: Why it [is / is not] a Model for Other Federal and State Prosecutors
The Western Express Cybercrime Case: Why Following the Money and the Data was Important
Cybercrime Investigations and the Need to Follow the Money, Data, and Online Activities
Cybersecurity Requirements and Analogies to Brick and Mortar Situations
Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Prevention for Organizations: Governance, Legal, Technical, and Human
Cybercrime: Why Disruption is / is Not Enough, and Why we Need / Don't Need Deterrence, and How to Achieve That
And some more details below:
A deep dive into why you cannot eliminate cybercrime simply with cybersecurity
- Ability for an individual organization to defend against all attacks
- Likelihood of all organizations properly defending against attacks
- Deterrence (or lack thereof) as a factor
- Other factors?
A deep dive into cybercrime statistics and risks for criminals of getting caught
- Assessing cybercrime reporting statistics and how accurate they are
  - What percentage of crimes are reported vs. unreported?
  - When are cybercrimes reported, when are they not reported?
- Cybercrimes committed and attempted and relative solve rates
- Compare cybercrime solve rates to solve rates for traditional crimes
- Compare relative risks of investigation, apprehension, prosecution
- Risk of apprehension for burglary vs. typical cybercrime
Cybersecurity governance - what parts of an organization need to be involved?
Cybersecurity careers - which skills are needed and which should be emphasized

Private security and law related paper topic areas (law, private security, and policing)

Remember that your paper topic must relate to your course!
I occasionally teach a course on private security and the law, Sec 315, so I used to include potential paper topics for that course here
But I have not taught that course in a while, and occasionally a student in my cyberlaw course picks a private security topic, based upon it all being is on the same webpage here
So I have removed the private security topics to avoid that confusion in the future.