Tag Archives: cybersecurity

Key Takeaways:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have jointly issued a cybersecurity advisory in response to recent activity by the threat actor group known as Scattered Spider.
• Scattered Spider is known to target large companies holding sensitive data – including financial services, telecommunications, business process outsourcing, hospitality, and cryptocurrency firms – for ransomware attacks.
• Scattered Spider largely relies upon impersonating IT support professionals and manipulating target company employees into sharing passwords or running malicious executables through remote access software.…

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Key Takeaways:

• This executive order (EO) directs federal agencies to review and develop policies to guide the use of artificial intelligence that touches every sector of the economy.
• The EO directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an HHS AI Task Force to develop a strategic plan on the responsible deployment of AI and AI-enabled technologies in healthcare settings.…

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On July 13, 2023, the Biden Administration released its National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan (NCSIP) with the goal of providng transparency and coordination for its existing goals. The NCSIP details more than 65 Federal initiatives (some completed, some ongoing, others planned for the future). Each NCSIP initiative is assigned to a responsible agency and has a timeline for completion.

There are five major “pillars” to the NCSIP:

• Defending Critical Infrastructure
• Disrupting and Dismantling Threat Actors
• Shaping Market Forces and Driving Security and Resilience
• Investing in a Resilient Future
• Forging International Partnerships to Pursue Shared Goals

Some NCSIP initiatives,… More

Over the past several years, the energy sector has become a prime target for hacking and ransomware attacks, with over 40 attacks on the industry since 2017.  Cyber attacks have only continued to rise, with a record high of 13 reported attacks in one year occurring in 2022.

Physical Security Threats to U.S. Energy Infrastructure

A new type of threat against the energy sector crystallized at the end of 2022: physical attacks on the grid. … More

Foley Hoag is pleased to contribute to Lex Mundi’s report on global data privacy trends and topics.  Our Lex Mundi network gives us access to the best attorneys in data privacy in jurisdictions across the globe, who provide local expertise on anticipated regulatory risks to overcome related to cross-border data and cybersecurity challenges. To access the full report, click here. More

Foley Hoag presented a discussion and Q&A regarding the growing threat of business email compromises (a.k.a. man-in-the-middle attacks). Attorneys Chris Hart and Yoni Bard, litigators with experience in privacy matters and business disputes, shared what they have learned through successfully representing victims of hacking and phishing attacks that have led companies to misdirect payments to unknown criminal actors. They discussed strategies for preventing these attacks and, if they occur, maximizing the likelihood of recovery through rapid response strategies (involving law enforcement and banks),… More

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the establishment of the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), as directed in President Biden’s Executive Order 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. The CSRB is a public-private initiative that will bring together government and industry leaders to elevate U.S. cybersecurity.

The CSRB will review and assess significant cybersecurity events, so that government,… More

On November 3, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) added two Israeli entities to the Entity List due to malicious cyber activities. In its press release, BIS stated that the designation of Israeli companies NSO Group and Candiru was based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments, which was then used for malicious surveillance,… More

As we anticipated last spring, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has signaled that it will utilize civil enforcement of the False Claims Act (FCA) to address new and emerging cybersecurity threats. On October 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the launch of a new cyber-fraud initiative led by the Fraud Section of DOJ’s Commercial Litigation Branch. The new initiative will focus FCA enforcement against federal government contractors or grant recipients who fail to follow required cybersecurity standards.… More

Ransomware payments continue to be a focus of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). As previously reported by Foley Hoag, on October 1, 2020, OFAC released an advisory regarding potential sanctions risks related to facilitating ransomware payments. Almost a year later, on September 21, 2021, OFAC updated its advisory to provide additional guidance regarding what OFAC considers to be mitigating factors if facilitating a ransomware payment results in an apparent violation of U.S.… More