Although email seems to be the preferred method of communication during the coronavirus pandemic, an error made by a City of Los Angeles employee is one to learn from and avoid repeat....more
Despite the fact that the hackers behind Maze ransomware previously promised not to hit medical organizations during the coronavirus pandemic, it recently attacked a British medical lab that is slated to test COVID-19...more
City of Durham, NC Hit With Ryuk Ransomware -
Another city—Durham, North Carolina—has become the victim of a ransomware attack stemming from a Russian hacker group following a successful phishing scheme. After falling...more
3/13/2020
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Municipalities ,
New Legislation ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Private Right of Action ,
Public Health ,
Ransomware
Another city—Durham, North Carolina—has become the victim of a ransomware attack stemming from a Russian hacker group following a successful phishing scheme....more
3/13/2020
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Emergency Response ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Municipalities ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware
On March 5, 2020, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law Senate Bill 110, “An act relating to data privacy and consumer protection,” which provides authority to develop a statewide data privacy inventory of the...more
3/13/2020
/ Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Databases ,
Information Governance ,
New Legislation ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government
One of the most significant consumer rights offered by the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is what we call the “private right of action” afforded by the law. A private right of action under a law basically means...more
3/13/2020
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Information Governance ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Private Right of Action ,
State and Local Government
The coronavirus—or COVID-19—has health care experts scrambling, and has caused global concern for health and well-being due to its rapid spread throughout many countries, including the United States....more
3/6/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Breach ,
Fake Websites ,
Fraud ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Malware ,
Online Platforms ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Public Health ,
Scams ,
Social Media
Natural Gas Compressor Facility Shut Down After Ransomware Attack -
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that a ransomware attack shut down a natural gas compressor facility for two days. While in...more
2/25/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Emergency Response ,
Extortion ,
Hackers ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
TCPA
Confirming what we are seeing in the field, cybersecurity firm Cybersecurity Ventures has predicted that, globally, businesses in 2021 will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 11 seconds, down from every 14 seconds in...more
2/18/2020
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Email ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Ransomware Attacks Predicted to Occur Every 11 Seconds in 2021 with a Cost of $20 Billion -
Confirming what we are seeing in the field, cybersecurity firm Cybersecurity Ventures has predicted that, globally, businesses in...more
2/14/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Brand ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Digital Wallets ,
Drones ,
Email ,
Emergency Response ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hackers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Devices ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State Attorneys General ,
Threat Management ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Vulnerability Assessments
A new study by Check Point Research shows that cyber criminals are using well-known brands to lure victims into clicking on nefarious links, providing personal information or credentials, or getting users to transfer money....more
2/14/2020
/ Apple ,
Brand ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Email ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Hackers ,
Malware ,
Microsoft ,
Netflix ,
PayPal ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware ,
Spotify ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
Yahoo!
Researchers at Sentinel One and Dragos have detected malicious code, called EKANS or Snake, that has been designed specifically to target industrial control systems (ICS), including those of oil refineries, manufacturing...more
2/7/2020
/ China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drones ,
Hackers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Identity Theft ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Malware ,
Medical Records ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Public Health ,
Retailers ,
Tax Fraud ,
Vulnerability Assessments
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
Concern over the spreading coronavirus from China is legitimate and real. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus a global health emergency, and the United States and other countries are limiting...more
2/5/2020
/ China ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Hackers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Security ,
Malware ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Public Health ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
World Health Organization
I am on vacation this week in beautiful Jackson Hole. The skiing is epic, the restaurants amazing, 1921 silver dollars inlaid in the tops of two bars, elk and moose abound, and I’ve had a sighting of several coyotes, a...more
A new report published by Coveware concludes that companies hit with ransomware attacks spend an average of 16 days recovering from the attack. Think about being offline and unable to do business for 16 business days. It is...more
Some app developers know more about our health than our doctors do. Take, for instance, FitBit, which is attached to our wrist and measuring in real time our temperature, our heart rate, our steps and whether we have had...more
1/24/2020
/ 23andMe ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Data-Sharing ,
DNA ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Fitbit ,
Genetic Materials ,
Genetic Testing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Information Technology ,
Mobile Apps ,
Patients ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
The same week that the National Institute of Standards and Technology came out with its Privacy Framework [view related post], highlighting how privacy is basically a conundrum, news articles also highlighted a new...more
FBI Warns of Retaliatory Cyber-Attack from Iran -
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning of a heightened likelihood of Iranian cyber-attacks following the escalation of tension between the U.S. and Iran. This...more
1/17/2020
/ Assassinations ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Dating Services ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
GAO ,
Hackers ,
Information Management ,
Iran ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Reviews ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Research Reports ,
Risk Management ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
Yelp
I don’t know much about dating apps. I met my husband decades ago, long before the Internet, and the old-fashioned way—in college. But I know people who have used them, have been happy with them, have found their life partner...more
1/16/2020
/ Ashley Madison ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cookies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Dating Services ,
Internet ,
Mobile App Privacy Guidelines ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Policy ,
State Attorneys General ,
Web Tracking ,
Websites
Department of Homeland Security Warns of Cyber-Attacks by Iran -
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a grave warning to U.S. businesses and critical infrastructure operators on January 6, 2020, alerting the...more
1/10/2020
/ Assassinations ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Relations ,
Hackers ,
Information Sharing ,
Iran ,
Microsoft ,
NYDFS ,
Operating System Developers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Vulnerability Assessments
After much anticipation and trepidation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1, 2020. Many companies are understandably still grappling with the details of the law, the amendments, and the...more
1/3/2020
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Deletion ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Information Governance ,
Opt-In ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Right to Delete ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
It is being reported that LifeLabs, a Canadian lab company that is the largest provider of laboratory diagnostics and lab testing services in Canada, recently paid an undisclosed ransom to hackers who compromised its computer...more
12/23/2019
/ Biometric Information ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Connected Cars ,
Connected Items ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Extradition ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Identity Theft ,
Information Technology ,
Malware ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Ransomware ,
Settlement
An Illinois employee of Power Solutions International Inc. (Power Solutions) filed suit against his employer alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) when Power Solutions collected his...more
12/20/2019
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fingerprints ,
Notice Requirements ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Preemption ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Workers Compensation Act ,
Workplace Injury
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