For healthcare providers and health systems covered by the privacy and security regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a breach of unsecured protected health information (PHI) likely triggers obligations to notify affected individuals, the federal Office of Civil Rights (OCR), potentially the media and other entities. The breach also may require

According to a New York Times story this weekend, the Security Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against SolarWinds is driving discussions in boardrooms and corporate security departments of large organizations about the handling and reporting of cybersecurity breaches. It turns out that such boards and departments may not be the only ones following the SEC’s increased focus

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved an amendment to its Safeguards Rule that will require non-banking financial institutions to report certain data breaches (or “notification events”) to the FTC (not affected individuals).

The “Safeguards Rule,” short for “Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information,” was created to ensure that businesses maintain safeguards to protect

There are numerous cybersecurity regulations and requirements for businesses to worry about but they may not be considering their cybersecurity regulations under privacy statutes. California was at the forefront of privacy regulations with the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Lawsuits under the CCPA began almost immediately after it was enacted in 2020.

This year, Indiana joined several other states to pass a comprehensive consumer privacy law, that becomes operative on January 1, 2026. Like other consumer privacy laws, Indiana’s law requires businesses to establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of personal data, which implicates cybersecurity concerns.

When hit with a cybersecurity attack, organizations are often not inclined to bring in federal law enforcement. Recent comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray at Mandiant’s annual mWISE 2023 conference seek to encourage the private sector to reconsider, as reported in CIODive. Doing so is an important consideration and depending on certain factors, it

The annual Cost of a Data Breach Report (Report) published by IBM is reliably full of helpful cybersecurity data. This year is no different. After reviewing the Report, we pulled out some interesting data points. Of course, the Report as a whole is well worth the read, but if you don’t have the time to

The healthcare sector is a prime target for data breaches. According to a summary by the HIPAA Journal, 32% of all data breaches between 2015 and 2022 were in the healthcare sector, “almost double the number recorded in the financial and manufacturing sectors.” Industry analysts cite to many reasons for this, including the sensitivity

FTC Safeguards Law (and Car Dealerships)

June 9th marked the deadline for financial institutions, including certain non-banking institutions that collect or maintain sensitive customer information (e.g., car dealerships), to implement a comprehensive information security program to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s updated Safeguards Rule. For additional information, see our post: Reminder: The

On May 27, 2023, Texas’ Governor signed Senate Bill 768 amending Texas’ data breach notification law. The law in question, Section 521.053 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, sets out the specific requirements any person conducting business in the state who owns or licenses sensitive personal information in a computerized format must follow in