According to The Identity Theft Research Center (ITRC), data breaches in 2021 surpassed the previous record year of 2020 by 17 percent. The incidents ranged from the theft of cryptocurrency (Livecoin went out of business...more
On January 1, 2022, Broward Health, which operates dozens of health care facilities in Broward County, Florida, notified over 1.3 million individuals that a threat actor gained access to and removed data from its system on...more
1/6/2022
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Information Technology ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information
CYBERSECURITY -
New Jersey Settles with Cancer Center Over Business Email Compromise -
One of the challenging things about HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) enforcement is the fact that both the...more
12/27/2021
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Drones ,
Facebook ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Hate Speech ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular
New Mexico’s Attorney General, Hector Balderas, continues to champion children’s online privacy protections, this time settling with Google over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). ...more
The Division of Legislative Automated Systems, which provides IT services to the Virginia General Assembly (the Assembly), detected a ransomware attack on December 10, 2021, that included “extremely sophisticated malware”...more
12/16/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
General Assembly ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Virginia ,
Vulnerability Assessments
CYBERSECURITY -
Joint CISA/FBI Alert on Vulnerability in Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus -
On December 6, 2021, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)...more
12/13/2021
/ Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
FBI ,
Gift-Cards ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Governance ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Scams ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Vulnerability Assessments
A new report issued by Sophos, The State of Ransomware in Education 2021, found that the education sector as a whole experienced a higher level of ransomware attacks than any other industry in 2020....more
12/3/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Educational Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Researchers at Mandiant have recently reported that a new ransomware group calling itself Sabbath appears to be the rebranded group Arcane and “picked up their pace” in November....more
12/2/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Educational Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
CYBERSECURITY -
CISA + FBI Remind Organizations to “Stay Vigilant” During Holiday Season -
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI issued a joint Alert this week, entitled “Reminder for...more
11/24/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Drones ,
FBI ,
GrubHub ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
TCPA
CYBERSECURITY -
CISA Issues Incident Response + Vulnerability Response Playbooks for Executive Branch -
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued the Cybersecurity Incident & Vulnerability Response...more
11/19/2021
/ Connected Items ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Costco ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Information Governance ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Credit card skimming fraud continues to affect companies and their customers, causing businesses such as Costco to routinely inspect their PIN pads for the devices. ...more
CYBERSECURITY -
November's "Patch Tuesday" Includes 55 Patches -
Staying current with Microsoft’s monthly patches is challenging, yet critical for one’s cybersecurity program. This week, Microsoft’s November Patch...more
11/12/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Microsoft ,
Network Security ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Shopify ,
Vaccinations ,
Vulnerability Assessments
The FBI issued a Private Industry Notification on November 2, 2021, warning companies that “ransomware actors are very likely using significant financial events, such as mergers and acquisitions, to target and leverage victim...more
11/5/2021
/ Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Coveware recently issued its 2021 Q3 Ransomware blog article, which notes that ransomware attackers are “moving away from big game hunting” and are moving to the middle market. ...more
Trucking company Forward Air revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it suffered a ransomware attack in December 2020 (reportedly by Hades), which caused business disruption as it was forced to...more
Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) continues to be a problem for employers who are using biometric information such as palm readers or fingerprint timekeeping software....more
We talk about passwords a lot. As you know, I am a fan of passphrases instead of passwords as they are hard to guess and easy to remember—a perfect combination for security data....more
CYBERSECURITY -
Medical Center Rebuilding EMR Following Ransomware Attack -
Queen Creek Medical Center (QCMC), also known as Desert Wells Family Medicine, located in Arizona, has notified up to 35,000 patients of a data...more
9/17/2021
/ Apple ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Drones ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Information Governance ,
iPhone ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Right of Access
CYBERSECURITY -
FBI Warns of Hive Ransomware Following Attack Against Hospital System -
On August 25, 2021, the FBI issued a Flash Alert to warn companies, especially in the health care industry, about the proliferation...more
9/3/2021
/ Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hackers ,
Maritime Transport ,
Mobile Apps ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Surveillance ,
WhatsApp
CYBERSECURITY -
Emerging Ransomware Groups Getting into the Action -
According to a report issued on August 24, 2021, by Unit 42 of Palo Alto Networks Ransomware Groups to Watch: Emerging Threats, four emerging ransomware...more
8/27/2021
/ COPPA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
FCC ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
TCPA
On August 25, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a fact sheet offering suggestions to government agencies and private companies on how to prevent and respond to a ransomware attack. ...more
8/27/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management
According to a report issued on August 24, 2021, by Unit 42 of Palo Alto Networks Ransomware Groups to Watch: Emerging Threats, four emerging ransomware groups “are currently affecting organizations and show signs of having...more
8/27/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
As a former Assistant Attorney General, I have a soft place in my heart for Attorneys General as consumer protection advocates. Most state AGs have the primary jurisdiction to enforce compliance with consumer protection laws...more
CYBERSECURITY -
T-Mobile Clarifies Facts of Security Incident in Press Release -
There has been a flurry of reporting in the past few days on the T-Mobile customer data compromise, with allegations that the compromise...more
8/24/2021
/ Baby Products ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Hackers ,
Information Governance ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Smart Devices ,
T-Mobile ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Blackbaud, which suffered a data breach of its customers’ data in a ransomware attack in 2020, in which it admitted paying the ransom in a double extortion attack, is facing multiple class action cases following the attack. ...more