Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition for a writ of certiorari by Zappos requesting the Court to review a Ninth Circuit Court decision which allowed customers affected by a data breach to proceed with a lawsuit on grounds of vulnerability to fraud and identity theft. The ruling stems from a 2012 breach that … Continue Reading
Add Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine’s recent data security legislative proposal – the Security Breach Protection Amendment Act of 2019 – to the growing list of states and jurisdictions across the country seeking to strengthen privacy and security protections around personal information. Proposed in response to major data breaches, a frequent catalyst to stronger … Continue Reading
Just last month, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), a part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), published guidance for public and private companies to protect mobile devices and help prevent data breaches. The publication, titled “Mobile Device Security: Cloud and Hybrid Build,” is a how to guide for companies to … Continue Reading
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which goes into effect January 1, 2020, is considered the most expansive state privacy law in the United States. Organizations familiar with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became effective on May 25, 2018, certainly will understand CCPA’s implications. Perhaps the best known comprehensive privacy and … Continue Reading
The Garden State has been updating its data privacy and security laws and you may be wondering why. On October 28, 2018, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the New Jersey State Police the New Jersey announced statistics on the effects of data breaches in 2017 on New Jersey residents. Based on that report, here … Continue Reading
According to reports, bank customers in Australia (yes, data breach notification requirements exist down under) have been affected by “an industry-wide” data breach experienced by a third-party service provider to the banks – property valuation firm, LandMark White. As expected, the banks are investigating and in some cases notifying customers about the incident. However, there are reports that … Continue Reading
In 2018, Delta paved the way in airport terminal development, by introducing the first biometric terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where passengers can use facial recognition technology from curb to gate. Delta now offers members of its Sky Club airport lounges to enter using fingerprints rather than a membership card or boarding pass. … Continue Reading
On February 25, 2019, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson introduced Senate Bill 561, legislation intended to strengthen and clarify the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was enacted in June of 2018. If enacted, this would be the second amendment to the CCPA, following an earlier amendment in September of 2018 … Continue Reading
Yesterday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael)announced Assembly Bill 1130 which is intended to strengthen California’s existing data breach notification law. In short, AB 1130 would amend the existing law to include passport numbers and biometric information (e.g., fingerprint and retina scan data) in the definition of personal information, so that, if … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court may finally weigh in on the hottest issue in data breach litigation, whether a demonstration of actual harm is required to have standing to sue. Standing to sue in a data breach class action suit, largely turns on whether plaintiffs establish that they have suffered an “injury-in-fact” resulting from the data … Continue Reading
Co-Author: Gabrielle Bruno Government agencies, businesses, hospitals and universities are the frequent targets of staggering data breaches that can affect millions of individuals. But K-12 schools are also at risk for cyber attacks as they rely more on technology for day-to-day operations and typically maintain a wealth of sensitive information about their students, teachers, administrators … Continue Reading
Happy Data Privacy Day from the Jackson Lewis Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity Team! In Honor of National Privacy Day, we are focused on what is sure to be one of the hottest issues of 2019 and present our FAQs for employers on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). As you know, data privacy and security … Continue Reading
Earlier today, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down a significant decision concerning the ability of individuals to bring suit under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). In short, individuals need not allege actual injury or adverse effect, beyond a violation of his/her rights under BIPA, in order to qualify as an “aggrieved” person and be entitled to … Continue Reading
Recently, Business Roundtable, an association for over 200 CEOs of America’s largest companies, released a detailed framework for a national consumer data privacy law that would provide uniformity in an area currently governed by an amalgam of state statutes and regulations. Business Roundtable is hopeful that it has the ear of the Administration and the … Continue Reading
According to SC Magazine, an escalating number of victims of data breaches in 2017 have led Attorney General Josh Stein and state Rep. Jason Saine to propose updates to the state’s existing data breach notification law – “Act to Strengthen Identity Theft Protections.” The Act would make a number of changes to the existing law, … Continue Reading
Privacy and cybersecurity risks continue to emerge for organizations large and small. While by no means exhaustive, we briefly discuss some key issues that organizations may need to focus on in 2019 and beyond. Business Email Compromise (BEC)/Email Account Compromise (EAC) – BEC and EAC attacks are widespread and show no sign of slowing in the … Continue Reading
Through its actions and publications, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has shown an increased focus on cybersecurity and the public disclosure of cybersecurity risks and incidents. In early 2018, the SEC issued a statement and an interpretative guide to assist companies with understanding and carrying out the agency’s disclosure obligations concerning cybersecurity risks and … Continue Reading
Over the past thirty days, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has reached three HIPAA breach resolutions, signaling to organizations that are covered entities and business associates under HIPAA, the importance of instituting basic best practices for data breach prevention and response. On November 26th, the OCR announced a settlement with Allergy Associations of Hartford, … Continue Reading
A new bill in the Senate proposes to hold large tech companies, specifically “online service providers”, responsible for the protection of personal information in the same way banks, lawyers and hospitals are held responsible. The Data Care Act of 2018, which was introduced on December 12, 2018, is designed to protect users information online and … Continue Reading
October 2018 marks the 15th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. In honor of this occasion, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have jointly launched an updated HIPAA Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool to help covered entities and business associates comply with … Continue Reading
On September 23, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB-1121 amending certain provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) which was enacted in June of this year. As we reported previously, CCPA will apply to any entity that does business in the State of California and satisfies one or more of … Continue Reading
As with prior hurricanes, Florence is a reminder to all organizations of the importance of disaster recovery planning. When a storm approaches, a business’s first concern is protecting its employees/customers, and then its physical property. However, we shouldn’t forget that a natural disaster can also destroy information and technology assets critical to its success and continuity. Key … Continue Reading
A key issue for any business facing class action litigation in response to a data breach is whether the plaintiffs, particularly consumers, will have standing to sue. Standing to sue in a data breach class action suit, largely turns on whether plaintiffs establish that they have suffered an “injury-in-fact” resulting from the data breach. Plaintiffs … Continue Reading
Cybersecurity incidents are on the rise, and so too is data breach litigation brought by plaintiffs who allege they were harmed by the unauthorized exposure of their personal information. Federal circuits across the United States are grappling with the issue of what satisfies the Article III standing requirement in data breach litigation, when often only … Continue Reading
