Author Archives: Tessa Zavala

What’s happening? S2666 (1117th Congress) would require businesses with more than 50 employees to notify Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that a ransom had been paid within 24 hours. A business’ failure to comply could hinder federal contracts. Why is this important? Its a blue print for state legislation How will this be important? This […]

What’s happening? Miami has partnered with CityCoin to accept MiamiCoin for tax purposes and other city purposes. The mining and exchange generates revenue for Miami. Why is this important? Annually the program is expected to generate $60 M and the mayor believes it will turn Miami into an innovation hub as the first city to […]

What’s happening? Miami adopted Miamicoin, a cryptocurrency that can pay city employees, and be accepted for city taxes.  Miami is partnering with CityCoins, a nonprofit and opensource protocol that allows people to hold and trade cryptocurrency representing a stake in a municipality. Why is this important? In a week that saw China ban all cryptocurrency, […]

What’s happening? Hong Kong passed a doxxing law that prohibits the public release of information identifying an individual or organization Why is this important? The legislation is a reaction to the 2019 mass pro-democracy protests that resulted in some law enforcement officers’ home addresses and children’s schools being exposed by anti-government protesters, leading to threats. […]

What is happening? In June 2021 3.9 Million people quit their jobs. 41% of workers world wide are ready to quit. Why is this important? Data moves when employees move jobs. New hires are the easiest targets for hackers. How will this be important? The FBI says $26 billion has been lost to business email […]

What is happening? A Newsweek poll shows that more than 40% of Texan voters support crypto-friendly legislation Why is this important? This includes support for legalizing cryptocurrencies How will this be important? Wyoming is methodically passing legislation to create a crypto bank, and has been a legislative fascination for other like minded legislators Yahoo Sports […]

What’s happening? www.banfacialrecognition.com tracks state and local bans on facial recognition software. There are 20+ outright bans. Why is this important? How you write a ban matters as Town of Hamden, Connecticut learned after proposing ” an ordinance that would prohibit all town officials from obtaining, retaining, accessing or using “any facial recognition system or any information […]

What is happening? Facial Recognition Software isn’t making local government sales, but it is making private sector sales like Miami where Uber or Lyft, or at an airport kiosks, have tablets that use facial recognition to target ads. Why is this important? The operator says the tablets do not retain personal data but do look […]

What’s happening? Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has declared ransomware a threat to the economy. To lessen the threat, The Treasury Department is cracking down on cryptocurrency, the preferred payment method for ransomware hackers. Why is this important? This year, the U.S. has seen  Colonial Pipeline and JBS USA choosing to pay ransoms. The Justice Department […]

What’s happening? At the end of July New York City passed a rule that required food delivery services to share customer information with restaurants with the policy goal of giving restaurants access to their customers. Now, Door Dash is suing in part because there are no data security measures for when the information is transferred. […]