A class action alleging Viacom illegally obtained and disclosed personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen through the Nickelodeon website recently reached the end of line (almost) when the class’ petition for writ of certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court this month. The high court chose not to further define the
Maureen K. Ohlhausen Appointed as Acting FTC Chairwoman
On January 13, current FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez announced that she would resign from her position effective February 10, 2017. Ramirez was instrumental in increasing the FTC’s cybersecurity enforcement authority, going after a wide range of data security related private offenders and demonstrating the FTC’s cyber “watchdog” status.
Last Wednesday, January 25, President Trump’s administration
Top 10 for 2017 – Happy Data Privacy Day
In honor of Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 10 for 2017.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide some hot topics for organizations to consider in 2017.
1. Phishing Attacks and Ransomware – Phishing, as the name implies, is the attempt, usually via email, to obtain sensitive or
FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez Steps Down
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently announced that FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez will be stepping down effective February 10, 2017. Ms. Ramirez guided the agency through a period of significant enforcement activity, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity and consumer privacy. President-elect Donald Trump will now have the opportunity to fill three vacancies at the
FTC Settles Claim of False Representations by Digital Advertising Company
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has entered into a Consent Order to resolve a complaint brought against a digital advertising company, Turn Inc. Turn provided advertisers with the ability to engage in targeted advertising by tracking consumer’s activities or characteristics to deliver ads tailored to the consumer’s interests. The FTC alleged that Turn violated federal
DFS’ Proposed Cybersecurity Regulation Edges Closer to Becoming Final Following Public Hearing
The New York State Assembly Committee on Banks held a public hearing on December 19, 2016, receiving testimony about both the benefits and challenges of a recently proposed regulation to address the growing threat posed by cyber-attacks on banks, insurance companies and most other entities which are regulated by the Department of Financial Services (DFS).
Study Finds Companies May Do Too Much For Data Breach Victims
A recent study at the University of Arkansas suggests that organizations should avoid doing too much for individuals affected by a data breach. That is, when organizations provide compensation to breach victims that exceeds the victims’ expectations it could backfire. Those victims may become suspicious, thinking the organization has something to hide, which could have
EU Top Court Rules IP Addresses Maybe Protected Personal Data
In a decision that could have significant impact for online companies that have European operations, the European Union’s (EU) top court ruled that Internet Protocol addresses (IP addresses) could, under certain circumstances, constitute protected data under EU data protection law (Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, E.C.J., No. C-582/14, 10/19/16). As most of us know,
HHS Issues Cloud Computing Guidance Which Is Helpful To All Users of Cloud Services
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) provided guidance for HIPAA covered entities and business associates that use or want to use cloud computing services involving protected health information (PHI). Covered entities and business associates seeking cloud services often have many concerns regarding HIPAA compliance, and this
3 Essential Steps For Responding To Ransomware Attacks
Likely because most victims comply with their demands, the incidence of attacks by ransomware hackers has exploded in 2016. Guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) in July notes that, on average, there have been 4,000 reported ransomware attacks per day thus far in 2016, far exceeding the average of