Category Archives: private corporations

Lege Trend: Power Grid + Data Security. 5 Rationals. 4 Solutions.

Congress is working to secure the nation’s power grid because the power grid is facing a major cyberattack because:

  • the power ” industry’s digital defenses are dangerously lagging and underfunded
  • energy companies are “scrambling to play catch-up”
  • energy companies  are ” leaving the all-important power grid exposed to hackers”
  • “the industry isn’t fully prepared to stymie sophisticated hackers.”
  • “In 2014, the energy sector was the most targeted of the nation’s critical…

How 1 Health Insurer Responded to a Class Action Data Breach Suit Affecting 80 Million

Anthem Inc. responded to a class action lawsuit concerning a data breach affecting 80 million by focusing on the 1 hot botton issue legislatures and regulators are focusing on:

whether the person whose personal information was hacked suffered any actual damages

Why is this response from Anthem important? Because courts, legislatures, and regulators have come down on all sides of whether actual damages is required in a data breach suit.

Anthem also provided all 80 million customers with 2…

Trendy Lege & legal Issue: Did the Breach Lead to Harm? How one ALJ Decided.Courts Differ.

Courts and legislatures have differed as to whether a person can bring a lawsuit when their personal data is stolen, but the data has not been used to harm the person.

What happened in this administrative law case? The FTC has been trying to enforce sanctions against a health care company for a data breach.

The FTC legalese is that the health care company’s ” purported failure to institute reasonable data security constituted an unfair trade practice under section 5 of the FTC Act,…

3 New Cyber Security Threats for Financial Types & Everyone

Morgan Stanley’s chief information officer of technology and risk information told the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s annual conference that there are 3 new cyber security threats emerging:

  • ransomware- targets an entity, holds your systems hostage until a ransom is paid
  • malicious insiders- someone with valid apparently credentials that seeks to “expose” the entity
  • destructive malware which hits the energy sector more than financial sectors

Think Advisor | 3…

Data Breach Enforcement: Cable Providers. Regulatory Enforcement. 3 Things to Know Now.

  • In 2014 Cox Communications was hacked. Millions of customer personal data was exposed.
  • Cox paid for notification and credit monitoring services for the millions of impacted customers.
  • Cox also faces regualtory enforcement from the FCC. The FCC is requiring:
    • A comprehensive compliance plan
    • A written information security program
    •  Cox will be monitored by the FCC for 7 years

JD Supra | FCC settles data security enforcement action with Cox

Data Security Bills Expedited Due to Terrorism

A push in the UK is campaigning to move forward with expedited data security legislation to secure networks in light of the November 13, 2015 terrorism in Paris. 

Why is this relevant?

  • Because legislation passed under the threat of security issues can bring in corporate client data security mandates
  • And, can include mandates for the world’s most valuable data security records– health care records.

Press Association | Lord Carlile wants communications data legislation ‘expedited’

Jail Contractor. Data Breach. Phone Records. 3 Reform to Follow.

  • Data Recording Limitations. Data breach included recorded attorney-client phone calls.
  • Data Retantion Limitations. If calls are recorded, how long are they to be kept and under which security protocols.
  • Data Protection. Attorney-client recorded calls were shared with prsoecutors.

Think Progress | Prison Phone Company Hit With Massive Data Breach

3 Recommendations to Minimize Liability in Outsourced Data Security. Hello Vendors.

  • “include specific data security procedure obligations in contracts with vendors

  • verify a vendor’s capacity to adhere to the prescribed data security procedures

  • look at data security practices from an expert’s perspective to determine whether such practices are reasonable”

National Law Review | Piercing Outsourcing Veil: FTC Says Data Security Obligations Remain 

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

Lege Trend: Data Security Bill Passes over Tech Objections. 3 Pros. 3 Opposition Points.

The U.S. Senate passed Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act on a vote of 74-21 this week.

Tech Companies continue their opposition. The main bones of contention:

  • Mechanism for sharing of cyber-threat information does not sufficiently protect users’ privacy ”  (Computer & Communications Industry Assoc.)
  • “[ Does not ] appropriately limit the permissible uses of information shared within the government” (Computer & Communications Industry Assoc.)
  • “Privacy-shredding” bill “in…