Privacy & Cybersecurity

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NIST Framework for Critical Infrastructure Released

February 13, 2014 | Blog

The release yesterday of the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity by the National Institute of Standards and Technology caps a year-long effort by NIST to find an industry consensus for assessing and improving the cybersecurity of the nation's privately-owned critical infrastructure.
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California Moves to Restrict Collection of Consumer Personal Information Online: the Process, History and Politics Behind Senate Bill 383

February 6, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The California Senate has passed a bill restricting the information that certain online retailers can collect in connection with consumer purchases. Senate Bill 383 would amend Sections 1747.02 and 1747.08 of the California Civil Code to address the collection of customer information in connection with credit card purchases in online transactions for downloadable products. 
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Federal Data Security Breach Notification – is 2014 the Year?

February 5, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Data privacy legislation has been introduced regularly, but has yet to pass, could this be the year? The recent breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus have drawn national attention and may be the impetus needed to pass the legislation.
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Federal IT Acquisition Policy Recommendations Focus on Cybersecurity

January 30, 2014 | Blog

The Department of Defense and the General Services Administration, which together spend more than $500 billion annually on information technology, have released a joint report to the White House recommending steps to upgrade the cybersecurity requirements of acquisitions of information technology and services throughout the federal government. 
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Damages Issues Again Thwart the Bulk of Plaintiffs’ Claims in the PlayStation Network Data Breach Class Action

January 23, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

In the latest chapter in the Sony PlayStation Network (“PSN”) data breach saga, a decision that issued on January 21, 2014 permanently dismissed all but a handful of the class action claims advanced in a 51 count complaint. 
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Look North, Marketers - Canadian Anti-Spam Law is Coming

January 21, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The US CAN-SPAM Act is old hat for marketers in the US. But it is time to revisit email marketing compliance programs if you send email north of the US border. Canada's anti-spam law (known as "CASL") has been debated for years but is finally coming into effect. 
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To 8-K, or not to 8-K? For Target, that is indeed the question.

January 17, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose, Adam Veness

As anyone with a pulse and a computer, television or carrier pigeon knows, Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) suffered a major data breach in December – the extent of which is still being uncovered – and pegs the latest number of customers that have had their personal information stolen anywhere from 70 to 110 million. 
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BREAKING NEWS: FTC Announces Major Settlement with Apple

January 15, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez just announced (press conference) that Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) has agreed to provide consumers full refunds of at least  $32.5 Million Dollars to settle the Commission’s complaint alleging that Apple billed consumers millions of dollars in charges incurred by children in purchasing items that costs money within mobile apps for kids (“children’s in-app charges”), without parental consent.
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Privacy Monday - January 13, 2014

January 13, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

These are busy times in the data privacy/security world.
If Misery Loves Company, Target Has Friends
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The Number of The Day: 70 Million (at least)

January 10, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The Target data breach story keeps getting worse. The December pre-Christmas disclosure was the theft of up to 40 million Target shoppers' credit and debit card information in what appeared to have been a hack of the Target point-of-sale system that allowed the thieves to swipe magnetic card data as customers checked out.
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COPPA: New Year, New Requests to FTC For Investigation of Violations

January 8, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

As we predicted in our prior blog post reviewing the key children’s privacy developments of the past year, 2014 is turning out to be the year of enforcement of children’s privacy regulations! The first two requests for investigation under the Amended COPPA Rule have been filed with the FTC by the Center for Digital Democracy (“CDD”), a consumer rights organization.
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Social Media for Financial Institutions - Final Guidance

January 5, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

At the end of 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) became the latest regulator to weigh in on social media and offered their final social media guidance. The proposed regulation was released last January.
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COPPA: "Knowledge-Based Authentication" Method Approved by Federal Trade Commission

January 3, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The FTC has announced that it has unanimously approved the knowledge-based authentication method proposed by Imperium, LLC (“Imperium”) as a COPPA-compliant method of obtaining verifiable parental consent (“VPC”). Knowledge-based authentication has been used by entities in the financial services industry to authenticate users for several years.
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Happy 2014!

January 3, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

After a brief hiatus for the holidays and our "12 Days of Privacy" series, we are back.
We have had a series of late year -- and new year -- data breaches in the news.  
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On the 12th Day of Privacy, ISO gave to me....

December 24, 2013 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The question is not whether a company will be the target of a data breach, but when. Verizon’s most recent Data Breach Investigation Report states that, in 2012, there were over 47,000 reported security incidents, which resulted in 621 confirmed data disclosures and at least 44 million comprised records. 
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And on the 12th Day of Privacy, something for directors.....Mind the Gap!

December 24, 2013 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

As we have discussed throughout this series, there is a whole universe of potential privacy and cyber risks not understood at a board level, and company directors must wake up to cyber threats or risk litigation from all sides.
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On the 11th Day of Privacy, class counsel served on me......

December 23, 2013 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

When asked why he robbed banks, the notorious bank robber Willie Sutton apocryphally replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” No matter its provenance, Sutton’s legendary dictum guides computer hackers and class counsel alike. 
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On the 10th Day of Privacy, my employer gave to me .....

December 20, 2013 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

As use of social media and other technologies continue to raise serious employment-related privacy issues in the workplace, expect to see a flurry of activity in 2014 from federal and state legislatures, administrative bodies and courthouses throughout the country addressing those issues.
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On the Seventh Day of Privacy, the FTC Gave to Me....

December 17, 2013 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Last December, the FTC gave to us the long awaited (or maybe not so much by covered entities!) final amendments to the 14-year old Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule (the “COPPA Rule,” and as amended, the “Amended COPPA Rule”).
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On the Fifth Day of Privacy, the SEC Gave to Me.....

December 13, 2013 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

As public companies prepare for the New Year and the start of yet another annual reporting season, it is the perfect time to reflect on our 2013 prediction that the SEC would require greater disclosure relating to cybersecurity risks and data breaches. As predicted, the SEC has been quite busy.
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