Continued Threats of Ransomware Attacks
As we reported in our 2021 Year in Preview series, we began 2021 anticipating that ransomware would be a serious threat to critical energy infrastructure. These concerns were realized in May 2021 when the Colonial Pipeline Company’s (“Colonial”) entire 5,500-mile pipeline system carrying liquid fuels was shut down due to a ransomware attack by DarkSide, a hacking group that allegedly has loose ties to the Russian government.… More
As we think about what 2022 may hold with regard to privacy and data security regulation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), we should first look back at some of the developments from last year that set the stage for this year. Just like 2021, it appears that the regulatory culture at the FTC this year will be heavily entangled with the political environment. Recent events suggest that while privacy and data security related reforms previously enjoyed bipartisan support,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the fourth in our fifth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Read our previous posts on Energy, Cannabis, and the GDPR.
As the Trump Administration ends, it is time to look forward to what may be on the horizon with regards to law enforcement at the FTC under the Biden Administration.… More
Editors’ Note: This is the third in our fifth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Read our previous posts on Energy and Cannabis.
A year ago, transferring data from Europe to the United States was inconvenient but manageable. Thousands of companies participated in the Privacy Shield, an agreement between the United States Department of Commerce and the European Commission where data importers certified that protected Europeans’ data at European levels.… More
Editors’ Note: This is the second in our fifth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Read our previous post on Energy.
Though the final results of the 2020 presidential race took a few days to become clear, it was obvious by the morning of November 4 that cannabis legalization had run the table: from deep red Montana,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the first in our fifth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year.
The Growing Threat of Ransomware
According to media reports, ransomware attacks against the manufacturing industry have more than tripled compared with last year. This dramatic rise in cyberattacks poses serious concerns about the vulnerability of critical energy infrastructure serving the nation’s electric grid,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the sixth in our fourth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Our previous entry discussed the CCPA, energy, Brexit, health care regulation, and state enforcement trends.
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is possibly the world’s most burdensome data protection scheme.… More
Editors’ Note: This is the fifth in our fourth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Our previous entry discussed the CCPA, energy, Brexit, and health privacy. Next up: trends in GDPR enforcement.
Out of all governmental agencies, state attorneys general are likely to have the greatest impact on privacy enforcement in 2020 for the average business. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the fourth in our fourth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Our previous entry discussed the CCPA, energy, and Brexit. Up next: trends in state enforcement.
2020 is likely to be an interesting year for health data privacy legislation, both in the United States and internationally. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the third in our fourth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Our previous entries discussed the CCPA and threats to the energy grid. Up next: changes in health care privacy.
On Thursday, December 12, voters in the United Kingdom went to the polls and delivered a decisive victory for the Conservative Party (aka the “Tories”),… More
Editors’ Note: This is the second in our fourth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Our previous entry discussed the CCPA. Up next: a look at the effect of Brexit on the GDPR.
The electric power grid is subject to escalating threats of attack by foreign adversaries and individual bad actors. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the first in our fourth-annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity in the coming year. Up next: a look at trends in the energy space.
Lists of “top” things used to come in a standard size of 10: The 10 Commandments, 10 Things I Hate About You, David Letterman’s Top 10,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the seventh and last in our third annual series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the new year. Our previous entries were on political advertising, cryptocurrency, emerging threats, state law trends, comparing the GDPR with COPPA,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the sixth in our third annual series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the new year. Our previous entries were on cryptocurrency, emerging threats, state law trends, comparing the GDPR with COPPA, and energy and security. Up next: HIPAA.
Social media companies’ and search engines’ revenue models are based on creating valuable advertising platforms for marketers. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the fifth in our third annual series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the new year. Our previous entries were on emerging threats, state law trends, comparing the GDPR with COPPA, and energy and security. Up next: political advertising.
In our 2018 SEC year in preview post,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the fourth in our third annual series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the new year. Our previous entries were on state law trends, comparing the GDPR with COPPA, and energy and security. Up next: cryptocurrency.
Predicting the future is always a bit of a mug’s game, given that today’s bold claims about what is coming next often end up being served as tomorrow’s “claim chowder,” to use John Gruber’s memorable phrase.… More
Editors’ Note: This is the third in our third annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Our previous entries were on comparing the GDPR with COPPA and on energy and security. Up next: emerging threats.
Whether it was a Blue Wave or a “Big Victory,” the midterm elections unequivocally transformed state regulatory and enforcement landscapes by sweeping in four new Democratic Attorneys General and earning Democrats a majority of those key policymaking positions. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the second in our third annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Our previous entry was on energy and security. Up next: trends in state data privacy enforcement.
Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2018, one of the most common questions for practitioners is what the GDPR means for children. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the first in our third annual end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Up next: comparing data protection regulations aimed at children under both COPPA and the GDPR.
While 2018 has been a year of unprecedented and escalating cyber-related threats generally, such has certainly been the case with respect to attacks on the nation’s domestic energy facilities.… More
Editors’ Note: This is the last in a nine-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, state enforcement trends, … More
Editors’ Note: This is the eighth in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, state enforcement trends, … More
Editors’ Note: This is the seventh in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, state enforcement trends, biometrics,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the sixth in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, state enforcement trends, and biometrics. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the fifth in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, and state enforcement trends. Up next: Education.
The term “biometrics” may conjure up images of Gattaca or Minority Report,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the fourth in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, and federal enforcement trends. Up next: a look at biometrics.
As state Attorneys General continue to flex their muscles in response to serious data security lapses nationwide,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the third of a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Click here for our previous entry on HIPAA Compliance, and here for our entry on emerging security threats. Up next: trends in state enforcement.
This time last year, Donald Trump had just been elected,… More
Editors’ Note: This is the second of a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Click here for our previous entry on HIPAA Compliance. Up next: trends in federal enforcement.
After one of Britain’s first victories in the Second World War, Winston Churchill declared that it was “perhaps, the end of the beginning” – a turning point in the war. … More
Editors’ Note: This is the first of a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Up next: the emerging threat landscape.
Like many things in Washington, the HIPAA landscape in 2018 will be shaped by the shifting priorities of President Trump’s new administration. Early signs point to less funding for the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) within the Department of Health and Human Services,… More
Editor’s note: This is the sixth and last in our end-of-year series. See our previous posts on trade secrets, state regulation and law enforcement, HIPAA compliance, emerging threats, and energy. See you in 2017!
Fragmentation in U.S. data privacy and cybersecurity law is both peril and promise. The peril? Businesses must contend with uncertainty and the costs associated with pleasing many regulatory masters. … More
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a continuing end-of-year series. See our previous posts on trade secrets, state regulation and law enforcement, HIPAA compliance, and emerging threats. Our last post will focus on federal regulation and law enforcement.
In 2015, a sophisticated cyberattack hit six of Ukraine’s energy providers simultaneously, causing a blackout for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. … More
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a continuing end-of-year series. See our previous posts on trade secrets, state regulation and law enforcement, and HIPAA compliance. Our last two posts will focus on the energy industry, and federal regulation and law enforcement.
In 2016, new and alarming cybersecurity threats emerged, raising concerns in government, the business world,… More
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a continuing end-of-year series. See our previous posts on trade secrets and state regulation and law enforcement. Up next: the changing threat landscape.
The year ahead promises to be a busy one for those with responsibility for HIPAA compliance, as the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), charged with enforcing HIPAA, continues to lean in to compliance initiatives and addresses new questions in the rapidly-evolving healthcare information technology environment.… More
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a continuing end-of-year series. Stay tuned for our next installment, discussing HIPAA compliance.
In the patchwork of state and federal law regulating the use and maintenance of personal confidential information, states play a significant role and can often be the most important regulator and law enforcement authority. Recent events have signaled changes in how states interpret and enforce their data privacy standards —… More
Editor’s Note: This is the first of an end-of-year series of posts examining coming trends in cybersecurity. Posts will examine trends in state regulations, federal regulatory authority, the changing nature of the threat landscape, and HIPAA. This post discusses a shift in concern from personal consumer information toward company trade secrets.
When it comes to the issue of data privacy and security, especially among lawyers, the discussion generally concerns personally identifiable information. … More