Category Archives: legal trend

One Country Looks to Protect its Elections

Country: Germany

The protections that Germany seeks to combat election hacking:

  • Greater hacking authority for its law enforcement
  • Specifically, Germans are pushing for the ” use co-called Staatstrojaner, or “state-trojan,” to break into computers and smartphones.”
  • German high courts have limited the ability for government hacking unless lives are at stake.

SC Media | Lawmakers in Germany push for encryption-busting trojan in lead up to election

Lege Trend. What are businesses saying about turning over data to governments?

No, thank you. Or, thank you, but no. 

Microsoft has taken the stand  that the only way it will turn over data to the government  is if Microsoft is legally compelled to do so.

What is Microsoft saying? Sue me or more politically correct, “”We will not help any government, including our own, hack or attack any customer anywhere,””

SC Media | Microsoft president takes stand against turning over data

TREND. Data Protections for Home Devices. Warrant or no Warrant.

Alexa, the Amazon product, home guru records voices. 

Alexa also records suspected murderers, at least it did in Arkansas. 

What kind of protection is Amazon seeking for the Alexa recordings? 

  • Until law enforcement creates a compelling enough case, no Alexa recordings
  • Amazon wants prosecutors to “prove the data isn’t available anywhere else and that it’s sufficiently related to the subject of the investigation”

Next step: Legislative fixes

The Verge | Amazon says Alexa’s speech is…

Lege Trend: Western Neighbor Data Breach Bill Applies to All.

Long gone are the days when data breach notifications only applied to retailers, or so says New Mexico.

The Bill: House Bill 15 (2017) The Data Breach Notification Act

What it does:

  • Any person who possess personal information about a New Mexican has 30 days to disclose any data breach
  • Requires the state attorney general office to work with any person who has suffered a data breach that triggers notification to New Mexicans.

KOB 4 | Lawmaker sponsors data breach notification bill

 

Empire Governor State Cyber Security Plan. 3 Point Plan.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo set forth his plan for protecting the cybersecurity of New Yorkers by:

  • Creating a “response team” to handle confidential information breaches from state & local governments 
  • Create a graduated system of punishments for computer tampering crimes based on the amount of damage
  • More severe punishments for identity Theft

New York Law Journal | Cuomo Promises New Cybersecurity Measures in 2017

3 Ways State Attorney Generals Play a Role in State Data Security Legislation

  • 23 of the 47 states that have data breach laws require the state Attorney General to be notified
  • State Attorney Generals litigate data breaches
    • in Texas, the Attorney General reached a settlement with Paypal app, Venmo, for $175,000 requiring the company to “improve disclosures regarding security and privacy”
  • many state Attorney Generals set policy like hio Attorney General who launched, CyberOhio

Lexology | McGuirre Woods | In Data Privacy, Don’t Forget the State Attorneys General

9 out of 10 Attorneys Agree. Not Good News for Health Care Business.

Health care attorneys agree that health care industry is at a higher risk for cyber crime. Here’s the data to support it:

  • 88% of ransomeware targets are health care entities
  • 84% of health care attorneys have been involved with clients who must dtermine issues like notification after a breach and adopting internal cyber security controls.

It must be bad if attorneys are agreeing with each other. 

Health Care Dive | Healthcare attorneys: Industry is at higher risk of cybercrime than others

Legal Trend. Credit Union Class Action After Retail Data Breach.

Where is this happening? Oregon courts

What is the complaint by the credit union and the other financial institutions in the class action? 

  • A restaurant chain failed to implement or maintain adequate data security measures for customer information
  • This caused the credit union to pay:
    • fraudulent charges 
    • replace cards
    • stop payments
    • block transactions
    • and other costs

SC Magazine | Oregon credit union sues Noodles & Company over breach