CYBERSECURITY -
Ubiquiti Notifies Customers of Breach -
Ubiquiti, a manufacturer of products used for networks such as routers, webcams and mesh networks, announced this week that an unauthorized access to its systems...more
1/15/2021
/ Activist ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hackers ,
Insurrection ,
Mobile Apps ,
Popular ,
Scams
Flo Health, Inc., (Flo) which offers a fertility-tracking app (Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker) used by more than 100 million customers, has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to dismiss the FTC’s claims...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning small businesses that they are being targeted by scammers through a new coronavirus-related scam. The scam “starts with an email that claims to come from the ‘Small Business...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched ReportFraud.ftc.gov so consumers can report fraud directly to the FTC in a more “streamlined and user-friendly way.”...more
I have received many questions this week on what to do if you are the victim of a fraudulent unemployment claim. It is unbelievable how many people I know who have become victims—yes—including myself....more
CYBERSECURITY -
FBI + CISA Issue Joint Alert on Vishing Attacks -
When the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) get together to issue an alert to warn us...more
9/4/2020
/ Australia ,
Cisco ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Drones ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Education ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Vulnerability Assessments
The coronavirus pandemic has caused millions of people to lose their jobs and many are struggling to make ends meet, including paying their utility bills. With economic turmoil comes scammers ready to take advantage of...more
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) has been on the books for years and is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). COPPA basically prohibits companies from collecting personal information from...more
I think that people in general are decent and good. There are always some bad apples, but during crises most people want to help others. During the coronavirus pandemic, many people are doing everything they can to help...more
The scammers know that most of us are working from home and are trying to use this to their advantage. The robocalls have increased, and telemarketers are calling more frequently, but with a new twist—preying on fears of...more
HHS Targeted by Nation-State Hackers -
Evil doers know that the best time to attack is during a crisis or a time of vulnerability. As the United States, and specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...more
3/20/2020
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FERPA ,
Hackers ,
Personal Data ,
PHI ,
Scams ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telecommuting ,
Waivers
In response to the coronavirus crisis, many companies have mandated that employees work from home in order to assist in slowing the spread of the virus....more
Tax identity theft continues to be a significant problem for taxpayers. Tax identity theft occurs when criminals use the personal information of individuals and file fraudulent tax returns before the taxpayer does, requesting...more
2/6/2020
/ Cyber Crimes ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Identity Theft ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Payroll Records ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Social Security Numbers ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns ,
W-2
Three million fraud cases were reported to the FTC in 2018, and 444,602 of them involved identity theft. These reported cases (just think of how high the statistic would be if all cases were reported) amounts to the third...more
12/19/2019
/ Credit Cards ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hackers ,
Identity Theft ,
Information Security ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Holiday shopping is in full gear and everything seems to be an Internet of Things (IoT) device. It continues to amaze me how folks will buy IoT gadgets and plop them in their homes and have no idea that they include a speaker...more
12/12/2019
/ Biometric Information ,
Children's Products ,
Children's Toys ,
Connected Items ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hackers ,
Holiday Gifts ,
Information Technology ,
Internet of Things ,
Mobile Device Management ,
Mobile Devices ,
Risk Management ,
Smart Devices ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Biometric information is unique to each of us, including our fingerprints, voice, face, iris, and DNA. We can’t replace our biometric data like we can a credit card. If it is compromised, it is compromised forever. It is uber...more
11/14/2019
/ Algorithms ,
Biometric Information ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fingerprints ,
Government Investigations ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General (VA OIG) recently completed an audit of the VA’s Milwaukee Regional Office after it was tipped off by a whistleblower about the exposure of sensitive information...more
10/31/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hackers ,
Identity Theft ,
Information Security ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Security Audits ,
Veterans ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Whistleblowers
Although Amazon and Google respond to reports of vulnerabilities in popular home smart assistants Alexa and Google Home, hackers continually work hard to exploit any vulnerabilities in order to listen to users’ every word to...more
10/25/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Connected Items ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber-Stalking ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Eavesdropping ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Hackers ,
Information Security ,
Information Technology ,
Mobile Apps ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Smart Devices ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Many cities in the United States utilize a self-pay portal for residents to pay bills online, known as Click2Gov. Click2Gov was compromised in 2017 and 2018, when hackers were able to access over 300,000 payment cards and...more
9/30/2019
/ Biometric Information ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Dating Services ,
Drones ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraudulent Marketing ,
Hackers ,
Medical Devices ,
Online Banking ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Social Networks ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Vimeo
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in a press release on September 25, 2019, that it has filed a Complaint against Match Group, Inc. (Match), the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish and other...more
9/30/2019
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Dating Services ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraudulent Marketing ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Platforms ,
Social Networks ,
Subscription Services ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
After all of the GDPR compliance assessments, implementation and hullaballoo in the last year or so, many companies chose to certify that they are compliant with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework rather than implementing a...more
No one likes a robocall. Yet, we all get them, and the increased frequency of robocalls is astounding. I now don’t pick up any calls on either my residential line or my cell phone unless it is a known number. It can be quite...more
Part of the 2018 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (which amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act) included a provision requiring credit reporting agencies (CRAs) to provide free electronic credit...more
Like many of you, I don’t answer my cell phone unless the number pops up as someone I know, because a majority of the calls I get are spam or robocalls. It’s so frustrating....more
In the Privacy Law classes I teach in the Brown University Executive Masters of Cybersecurity and at Roger Williams University School of Law, we discuss the enforcement authority that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the...more