A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a two-year statute of limitations applies to a claim by an HIV-positive patient asserting one of his doctors improperly disclosed his medical status to a third party without consent. The three-judge Appellate Division panel rejected arguments by the doctor that the suit should be dismissed as time-barred
New Mexico Enacts Data Breach Notification Act
On April 6, 2017, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez signed HB 15, making New Mexico the 48th state to enact a data breach notification law. The law has an effective date of June 16, 2017 and follows the same general structure of many of the breach notification laws in other states.
Importantly, the definition of
Virginia Responds to W-2 Phishing Scams with First of Its Kind Notification Requirement
As previously highlighted, in early February, the IRS issued a warning to all employers regarding the resurgence of a W-2 based cyber scam. Since the IRS warning, this type of scam has taken numerous victims. On February 15, 2017, Virginia Wesleyan College released a notice stating that the 2016 W-2 tax form information of
DoD Updates Cyber Incident Reporting Rule
On October 4, 2016, a final rule was published in the Federal Register which implements statutory requirements for Department of Defense (DoD) contractors and subcontractors to report cyber incidents that result in an actual or potentially adverse effect on a covered contractor information system or covered defense information residing therein, or on a contractor’s ability
Sharing of Passwords Under Certain Circumstances Unlawful
Many companies have experienced the departure of an employee and the elimination of that former employees access to the company’s computers and networks. In the recent case of USA v. Nosal, D.C. No. 3:08-cr-00237-EMC-1 (July 5, 2016), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was presented with the following facts: Nosal, a former employee of
Pokémon GO – Next Stop: Regulation & Litigation
As everyone is aware, the Pokémon GO craze has taken the world by storm in the past month. Reports estimate there have been over 75 million downloads of the digital game since the program became available on July 6. Apple has not issued any concrete numbers, but has confirmed that it was the most downloaded
The Privacy Shield Is Finally Here
Earlier today the European Union and U.S. officials announced the final approval of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield data transfer agreement (“the Privacy Shield”). Beginning August 1, 2016, organizations based in the U.S. will be able to self-certify their compliance with the Privacy Shield.
The Privacy Shield is meant to replace the EU-U.S. Safe Harbour agreement
Colorado Law Grants Employees Right to Access Personnel Files
Beginning January 1, 2017, employees in Colorado will now have a right to inspect and copy their personnel files. Prior to this law, Colorado had no law granting private-sector employees access to their personnel records.
Under the new law, upon a current employee’s request, an employer must allow that employee to inspect and obtain
5 Practice Tips for Law Firms as Data Breach Spotlight Swings Their Way
While data breach incidents affecting the entertainment, retail, healthcare, and financial industries have garnered more attention in past years, the data breach spotlight recently shifted to law firms.
This shift was triggered by media coverage of the breach and leak of the Panama Papers, and by reports that, in 2015, hackers breached the networks
Illinois Enacts Amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act
Last month, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law a number of amendments to the State’s Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) that expand the definition of protected personal information and increase certain data breach notification requirements. The amendments, highlighted below, take effect January 1, 2017.
Currently, “personal information” is limited to an individual’s first name