Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued much anticipated cybersecurity guidance for employee retirement plans. This comes more than four and a half years after the ERISA Advisory Council, a 15-member body appointed by the Secretary of Labor to provide guidance on employee benefit plans, shared with the federal
Travel 2.0: Vaccine Passports and Visas—What’s Next on the Horizon
One of the industries perhaps hardest hit by the coronavirus, the travel industry, received welcomed news late last week in the form of CDC guidance stating that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can resume domestic travel and do not need to get tested for COVID-19 before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
According to
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
Federal Agencies Issue Joint Alert on Imminent Cybercrime Threat to Healthcare Providers
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory stating they have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.
The advisory describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures
Hacked Healthcare Provider Refuses to Pay Ransom, Attackers Target Psychotherapy Patients
Earlier this year, we reported on an evolution in the form of cyberattack known as ransomware –attackers transitioning from denying affected users access to critical data by encrypting it to removing data from the compromised systems and threatening public release in exchange for payment. These attacks typically target the companies maintaining the data. However, attackers
House Passes Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act
The House of Representatives recently passed the Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 (the Act). The Act has been moved to the Senate for consideration. The legislation sets minimum security standards for all IoT devices purchased by government agencies.
IoT refers to the myriad of physical devices that are connected to the
Indiana AG Proposed Regulations Creating Corrective Action Plan Requirement and Cybersecurity Safe Harbor
A proposal by Indiana’s Attorney General Curtis Hill on Wednesday would add a significant step in the incident response process for responding to breaches of security affecting Indiana residents. On Wednesday, during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce virtual event, he announced his proposed rule designed to better protect Hoosiers from cyberattacks. It is expected that
Michigan Considers Enhanced Data Breach Notification Law
Privacy and security continue to be at the forefront for legislatures across the nation, despite (or perhaps because of) the COVID-19 pandemic. In late May, with back-to-back amendments, Washington D.C. and Vermont significantly overhauled their data breach notification laws, including expansion of the definition of personal information, and heightened notice requirements. Now, Michigan may follow
HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates Need an IT Asset Inventory List, OCR Recommends
Last week, in its Cybersecurity Summer Newsletter, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) published best practices for creating an IT asset inventory list to assist healthcare providers and business associates in understanding where electronic protected health information (ePHI) is located within their organization, and improve HIPAA Security Rule compliance. OCR investigations often find that organizations