In 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which provides for an expansive array of privacy rights and obligations, was enacted. At the time, it was reasonable to wonder whether California’s bold example would catalyze similar activity in other states. It’s clear now that it has. Virginia recently passed its own robust privacy law,
The Circuit Split Continues: 11th Circuit Weighs in on Standing in Data Breach Litigation
The 11th Circuit recently weighed in on the hottest issue in data breach litigation, whether a demonstration of actual harm is required to have standing to sue. Joining several other circuit courts, the 11th Circuit in Tsao v. Captiva MVP Rest. Partners, concluded that the plaintiff had failed to allege either that
Virginia Becomes 2nd State to Enact a Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Law
On Tuesday, March 2nd, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), officially joining California as the second state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, intended to enhance privacy rights and consumer protection for state residents. We provide an in-depth analysis of the CDPA here, along with
FDA Names First Acting Director of Medical Device Cybersecurity
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) named University of Michigan Associate Professor Kevin Fu Acting Director of Medical Device Security in its Center for Devices and Radiological Health. This is a newly created 12-month post in which Fu will “work to bridge the gap between medicine and computer science and help manufacturers protect
Comprehensive State Privacy Laws On the Move, How Should Organizations Evaluate Them?
Virginia may be the first state to follow California’s lead on consumer privacy legislation, but it certainly will not be the last. The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) observed, “State-Level momentum for comprehensive privacy bills is at an all-time high.” The IAPP maintains a map of state consumer privacy legislative activity, with in-depth analysis
CPRA Series: Redux on Data Security Requirements and Private Right of Action
The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), passed in November, 2020, added to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) an express obligation for covered businesses to adopt reasonable security safeguards to protect personal information. The CPRA also clarified the CCPA’s private right of action for consumers whose personal information is breached due to a failure to
A Reminder for Employers About W-2 Phishing Scams
For the past several years, thousands of businesses have been hit with phishing scams during tax season. Through these social engineering scams, hackers obtain employee Forms W-2 for filing fraudulent tax returns seeking large refunds. These phishing emails are typically sent as clients begin the process of issuing W-2s to employees. Often employers do not
You Have Heard of the BIPA, But What About the GIPA?
Enacted in 2008, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14 et seq. (the “BIPA”), went largely unnoticed until a few years ago when a handful of cases sparked a flood of class action litigation over the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of biometric information. Seeing thousands of class action lawsuits, organizations have
Court Denies Motion for Class Certification in Employee W-2 Data Breach Litigation
In recent years, there has been an uptick of W-2 phishing scams, and their consequences for an employer extend well beyond leaked data, including potential employee class action litigation. Just last week, a federal court in Illinois rejected a motion for class certification in a data breach case alleging disclosure of employees’ sensitive tax information
Federal Contractors: Have You Done Your Privacy Training?
Federal contractors know all too well the list of annual requirements and obligations can seem overwhelming at times. One that may get overlooked by some is annual training requirements. A fairly new such training went into effect in 2017 – it requires certain federal contractors to do annual data privacy training.
According to the U.S.