Cybercrime and the Constitution

Sep 26, 2025

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The U.S. Constitution was written more than two centuries ago - how could it have foreseen how to handle issues such as cybercrime and cybersecurity?

Siena's annual Constitution Day brought in two alumni to explore this topic on September 23: Sheriff Richard Giardino '81, J.D. of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, and emerging accounting professional Morgan Campbell '25 M.S.A.

Just as the nation's founders could not have foreseen the contentious issues of same sex marriage or abortion, they also could not have foreseen cybercrime. But they drafted a document that addresses rights that can be applied to any number of issues.

"There are two ways of looking at the Constitution," said Giardino. "One is a traditional approach where the Constitution is the Constitution and is carved in stone, and the newer view is that it is a living, breathing document that can be referenced and amended to guarantee rights and set limits on government conduct."

He explained that cybercriminals are generally called "upstanding criminals" in that "they know if they burn you, their threats will mean nothing." He also shared that once they access your accounts, they also know exactly how much money you have, and how much you or your business can spare.

Campbell noted that professionals in this field, with their access to financial statements and tax documents and an increased reliance on the cloud to store data, need to be "constantly vigilant" against ransomware, phishing and other threats to privacy and data.

"The impacts can be tremendous: financial loss, reputational damage, fines, and disruption of operations," she said.

"This further emphasizes the need for 2-step authentication, site controls and other safeguards on all accounts," said Robinson.

Len Cutler, Ph.D., professor of political science and organizer of Siena's annual Constitution Day observance, said in his introductory remarks that "the advent of the digital age has brought with it many challenges," and that the Constitution and Bill of Rights "ensure privacy, due process, and protection against illegal search and seizure, all of which relate to cybercrime and cybersecurity."