Across the board, cybersecurity legislation baldy needs an update. President Barack Obama’s recent cybersecurity remarks and State of the Union address have reignited the conversation around cybersecurity legislation — and that’s a good thing. Most of the existing regulations were based on issues surrounding telephones or antiquated systems of communication that are from 20 to 30 years ago. Regulations that were made in pre-cellphone times cannot be expected to handle today’s sophisticated threats and challenges. They haven’t kept pace with the forms of digital communications we have today or the diverse threat environment that we are facing — and they badly need to catch up.

Courts can respond only to — and attempt to interpret — those laws that are on the books. Unfortunately, until regulations are updated, that means court decisions are going to be based on interpretations of outdated laws.