By Rick Mendenhall

Picture a bank heist. $45 million stolen. No guns. No alarms. No masks. Just secret meetings between international criminal cells, suitcases stuffed with hundreds of thousands in cash, and an international investigation encompassing law enforcement authorities in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Germany and Romania.

Throw in Bruce Willis, set it on Christmas day, and this sounds like Die-Hard 7.

Alas, no yippe ki yay was uttered, and this heist was very real. Armed only with debit cards and an internet connection, three men plus an unknown number of international co-conspirators ripped off forty-five million from both domestic and foreign banks. The DOJ, however, with the assistance of sixteen countries, swiftly apprehended the cyber-criminals, and a federal judge just entered a sentence against them.

This type of international cyber-crime, while splashy now, may be the norm of tomorrow. Please join Georgetown University Law Center Thursday December 4^th for a symposium entitled Cybercrime 2020: the Future of Online Crime and Investigations. Speakers will undoubtedly tackle both domestic and international legal issues.

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December 02, 2014

By Catherine Kent

Reuters reports that since the West first placed sanctions on Russia in response to Putin’s involvement in the Ukraine, Putin has been largely successful in spreading anti-Western rhetoric and U.S. conspiracy theories. As most of Russia gets their news from state television, which mirrors Putin’s views, he has been able to deflect the blame. Despite Russia’s recent economic downturn, Putin has maintained an 80% approval rating.

Putin claims that the sanctions will only help Russia’s economy, as they allow Russia to isolate itself from reliance on foreign countries and develop its own domestic industries. However, Putin’s take is not supported by the facts, indeed, the Ruble has lost 20% against the US Dollar last year.

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October 27, 2014