From Bug to Breach: Legal Lessons in Cryptographic Failures

Open-source cryptographic libraries like OpenSSL are foundational to the internet’s security—but when misused or misconfigured, they don’t just open the door to cyber threats. They open the door to legal ones. This session explores the collision between technical missteps in cryptography and high-stakes legal exposure, examining how supply chain vulnerabilities, licensing misunderstandings, and implementation failures can escalate into breach reporting obligations, regulatory investigations, and contractual liability. We’ll also unpack how legal teams can support engineering in building stronger risk models and contract guardrails when deploying open-source cryptography.