Category Archives: legal trend

U.S. Chamber on Data Security. 3 Points.

  • A patchwork of state laws is hard on business
  • Requires a single regulatory agency
    • Currently the FTC, FCC & state agency wrangle over regulatory authority
  • Clear legal standards on what constitute harm from a data breach

U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform | A Perilous Patchwork: Data Privacy and Civil Liability in the Era of the Data Breach

What is the hubbub about the EU- US Data Security Ruling this week?

Why don’t Europeans want their data routed to the US by google or facebook? Europe has high data security protocols than the US.

Can’t the companies protect the European information?  Sure, Tim Cook Apple has said it will lead in data privacy, but the Patriot Act and other laws allow US to snoop on data. So, that European data gets siphoned up by the U.S. government.

So, what? Americans have learned to live with it? Remember the international kerfuffle that occured when it was learned…

Trump Hotel Data Breach

What happened to expose customer data at Trump Hotels? Hotel security systems were “compromised as a result of malware that went unnoticed on system computers for more than a year.”

How long did hackers potentially have access? 1+ year

What responses did Trump Hotels have?

  • Hired independent investgators who found no instances of data being accessed through the malware
  • “Immediately upon learning of a possible incident, we [Trump Hotels] notified the F.B.I. and financial institutions,…

3 Federal Regulatory Data Security Acts Point to State Legislation on the Horizon

What have the feds done for us lately to protect our data security?

1.     Weeks ago the FDA stopped the use of a pump for infusion therapy because it could be hacked

2.     July’s recall of 1.4 million Chryslers, Dodges & Jeeps because of hacking the auto software

3.     The SEC following through on enforcement for insider trading due to a computer hack

Let’s not forget it has also been the year of:

  • student data breaches
  • insurance companies data breaches
  • a fear of data security…

6 Trends in State Data Breach Laws

  • Greater Enforcement Powers for State Attorneys General
  • Protecting More types of data = more reasons to notify consumers
  • Expanded liability for private companies that store state data
  • Requiring companies that have a data breach to offer, at their cost, mitigation services that protect data- think Life Lock etc…
  • Protecting Student Data
  • Requiring encryption for stored data
    • As an example, see: 
      • “The new Washington law goes even further as it identifies a minimum standard for…

Regulatory Trend: Health Care Data Breach

A health care company experiences a data breach, what’s the regulatory and legal landscape?

  • Civil lawsuits that lead to Class Action lawsuits, check.
  • Penalties imposed by a regulatory agency, check.
    • Health and Human Services reached a $750,000 settlement with Cancer Care Group over a data breach involving HIPPA records. 

What can we learn from this incident?

  • health care companies should  conduct risk analysis of tinformation security policies
  • health care companies should have a…

Legal trend: FTC Enforcement Upheld. Retailers Take Note.

This week, the 3rd Court of Appeals upheld an enforcement action against Wyndham for a series of data breaches that exposed the credit card data of 600,000 customers.  

The ruling solidies the FTC’s enforcement actions. This year alone there have been more than 90 reported data security incidents. 

CRM  The Center for Democracy & Technology  The Recorder   National Law Review

Trend: Activist Hackers.

The last few weeks have cemented a growing trend of activist hackers. Examples from the last year:

Expect to see more moves into the realm of politics, social issues, and corporate interests.

Tech…

LegalTrend: How Secure Are Your Biometrics on Facebook?

Privacy class action lawsuits in Illinois assert that Facebook violates a 2008 Illinois law protecting a peron’s biometric information with its facial recognition tagging software. 

The nuts and bolts of the Illinois law:

  • Biometric Information Privacy Act makes it illegal for a company to:
  • collect or access customers’ biometric identifiers
    • without first informing them in writing about what’s being collected,
    • how the biometrics are being used,and
    • how long biometrics are being…