Challenges and Solutions to Criminal Liability for the Actions of Robots and AI

Civil liability legislation is currently being developed, but little attention has been paid to the issue of criminal liability for the actions of robots. The study describes the generations of robots and points out the concerns about robots’ autonomy. The more autonomy robots obtain, the greater capacity they have for self-learning, yet the more difficulty in proving the failure foreseeability when designing and whether culpability or the elements of a specific crime can be considered. In this study, the tort liability depending on the category of robots is described, and the possible solutions are analyzed. It is shown that there is no need to introduce new criminal law constructions, but to focus on the process of proof. Instead of changing the legal system, it is necessary to create the most detailed audit trail telling about the robot’s actions and surroundings or to have a digital twin of the robot

Dynamic Biometric Signature - an Effective Alternative for Electronic Authentication

The use of dynamic biometric methods for the authentication of people provides significantly greater security than the use of the static ones. The variance of individual dynamic properties of a person, which protects biometric methods against attacks, can be the weak point of these methods at the same time. This paper summarizes the results of a long-term research, which shows that a DBS demonstrates practically absolute resistance to forging and that the stability of signatures provided by test subjects in various situations is high. Factors such as alcohol and stress have no influence on signature stability, either. The results of the experiments showed that the handwritten signature obtained through long practice and the consolidation of the dynamic stereotype, is so automated and stored so deep in the human brain, that its involuntary performance also allows other processes to take place in the cerebral cortex. The dynamic stereotype is composed of psychological, anatomical and motor characteristics of each person. It was also proven to be true that the use of different devices did not have a major impact on the stability of signatures, which is of importance in the case of a blanket deployment. The carried out experiments conclusively showed that the aspects that could have an impact on the stability of a signature did not manifest themselves in such a way that we could not trust these methods even used on commercially available devices. In the conclusion of the paper, the possible directions of research are suggested

Challenges and Solutions to Criminal Liability for the Actions of Robots and AI

Civil liability legislation is currently being developed, but little attention has been paid to the issue of criminal liability for the actions of robots. The study describes the generations of robots and points out the concerns about robots’ autonomy. The more autonomy robots obtain, the greater capacity they have for self-learning, yet the more difficulty in proving the failure foreseeability when designing and whether culpability or the elements of a specific crime can be considered. In this study, the tort liability depending on the category of robots is described, and the possible solutions are analyzed. It is shown that there is no need to introduce new criminal law constructions, but to focus on the process of proof. Instead of changing the legal system, it is necessary to create the most detailed audit trail telling about the robot’s actions and surroundings or to have a digital twin of the robot

Dynamic Biometric Signature - an Effective Alternative for Electronic Authentication

The use of dynamic biometric methods for the authentication of people provides significantly greater security than the use of the static ones. The variance of individual dynamic properties of a person, which protects biometric methods against attacks, can be the weak point of these methods at the same time.This paper summarizes the results of a long-term research, which shows that a DBS demonstrates practically absolute resistance to forging and that the stability of signatures provided by test subjects in various situations is high. Factors such as alcohol and stress have no influence on signature stability, either. The results of the experiments showed that the handwritten signature obtained through long practice and the consolidation of the dynamic stereotype, is so automated and stored so deep in the human brain, that its involuntary performance also allows other processes to take place in the cerebral cortex. The dynamic stereotype is composed of psychological, anatomical and motor characteristics of each person. It was also proven to be true that the use of different devices did not have a major impact on the stability of signatures, which is of importance in the case of a blanket deployment.The carried out experiments conclusively showed that the aspects that could have an impact on the stability of a signature did not manifest themselves in such a way that we could not trust these methods even used on commercially available devices. In the conclusion of the paper, the possible directions of research are suggested

Contemporary enactment of the electronic signature in the Czech Republic

Professor Smejkal describes the enactment of the Electronic Signature Act in the Czech Republic

Dynamic biometric signature and GDPR

Nařízení GDPR ve svém čl. 9 upravuje zpracování biometrických údajů za účelem jedinečné identifikace fyzické osoby. Protože nařízení nahradí dosud platný zákon č. 101/2000 Sb., o ochraně osobních údajů, byly prezentovány názory, podle kterých nebude možno nadále postupovat v mezích dosavadního stanoviska Úřadu pro ochranu osobních údajů o zpracování biometrických údajů, které má velký význam pro systémy používající dynamický biometrický podpis. Příspěvek diskutuje, zda je skutečně namístě měnit dosavadní výkladovou praxi pro tuto specifickou oblast používání biometrických údajů.General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in its Article 9 greatly limits the possibility to process biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person. This Regulation will replace the current Act No. 101/2000 Coll. of Laws, on protection of personal data and therefore, according to some opinions, it will no longer be possible to proceed within the limits of the existing position of the Office for Personal Data Protection concerning the processing of biometric data that considers the processing of the dynamic biometric signature to be in the same regime as a classic signature. It means that personal data not the sensitive ones are being processed. This contribution analyses whether it is really necessary to change the current interpretative practice on the use of biometric data in this specific area after GDPR will apply and concludes that it is not the case. There are also mentioned general possibilities and limits for use of biometrics from the point of view of the applicable law and GDPR

From Terrorism to Cyberterrorism

The paper deals with a new phenomenon of crime – the terrorism in cyberspace. Terrorism, cyberterrorism and cyberwar are defined here. The paper focuses on the systemic integration of cyberterrorism into the structure of terrorist attacks, describes various types of attacks in cyberspace, and deals with the legal definition of cyberterrorism. Since the 1990´s, war and armed conflict have been moving increasingly from the interstate to the intrastate area. In the postmodern conflict, besides government troops, various irregular paramilitary groups, most commonly defined tribally, ethnically, or religiously, keep on fighting. However, their military activities are usually linked to a largescale criminal activity. Whereas, in standard wars, we expect states and their armed forces to be parties to the conflict, in the case of the postmodern conflict, hybrid wars, and the so-called asymmetric threats, war is not separated from the life of the civil society, as it used to be in standard wars of the 20th century. It is also increasingly difficult to separate war and terrorist attacks. Cyberattacks are becoming a part of terrorist attacks. Modern information technologies are becoming more and more important in spreading ideologies which provide a fertile ground for terrorism, as they are increasingly important for training and teaching terrorist practices. Terrorists use the Internet as a means of spreading propaganda aimed at recruiting sympathizers as well as instructions and manuals for training or attack planning. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins are used to transfer finances. In this context, cyberterrorism could be defined as the use of the means of modern information and communication technologies to implement an act of violence, in order to provoke a certain reaction (from the point of view of terrorists, in ideal case, the by them required psychological reaction) of the audience of the terrorist act. In the case of cyberterrorism, it would be a politically motivated attack on instruments and / or the process of obtaining and / or processing electronic data which, as a result, means violence against non-military targets and the purpose of which is to influence, in a certain way, a wider circle of recipients rather than the direct victims of such an attack. While mostly natural persons are the target of typical terrorism, in the case of cyberterrorism, on the contrary, the attacks are aimed at state authorities, corporations, and the critical infrastructure. It is a question whether in these cases we are able to correctly assess whether it is a terrorist attack or an (unreported) information or cyberwar conducted by a foreign state. In some cases, we cannot even be sure whether it is a criminal act which is masked as a terrorist one or vice versa, which is easier to do in cyberspace rather than in the material world