Tag Archives: data security

Privacy and Product Counseling: 2020 in Review

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonPhoto of Nichole SterlingBy Kyle R. Fath, Gerald J. Ferguson and Nichole Sterling on Posted in Privacy
Summary Advising our clients on compliance with laws and regulations is, hands down, the most important aspect of our role as attorneys. In addition to seeking counsel on their obligations under laws and regulations, however – motivated by industry trends, utilization of and dependence on third-party services and platforms, and, this year, the COVID-19 pandemic … Continue Reading

New FTC Provides Insights Into Its Plan for a Balanced Approach to Data Privacy and Security

Photo of Carolina AlonsoBy Alan L. Friel, John Busch and Carolina Alonso on Posted in Federal Legislation, GDPR, Online Privacy
This year brought unprecedented focus on consumer privacy – the rollout of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Cambridge Analytica controversy and Congressional hearings, a GDPR-light law coming out of California, more and bigger security incidents, and multiple proposals for an omnibus federal data protection law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or … Continue Reading

11th Circuit Issues Opinion Vacating Order That Required LabMD to Overhaul Its Data Security Program

Photo of Kathryn CareyBy Kathryn Carey and Aaron Lancaster on Posted in Cybersecurity, Medical Privacy
On June 6, the 11th Circuit issued its long-awaited decision on LabMD Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, vacating as unenforceable the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) cease and desist order that required LabMD to create and implement a variety of protective measures with respect to data security. Notably, however, the decision did not address the most … Continue Reading

Deeper Dive: Using Response Time Metrics to Drive Incident Response Preparedness & Response Improvement

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Data Security Incident Response
One of the most important metrics in our report is the incident response (IR) timeline, which tracks the average time it takes companies to detect, contain, fully investigate, and provide notification of the incident to individuals. The metric is valuable because it helps entities identify areas where they can improve before an incident occurs and … Continue Reading

Ways to Prevent & Prepare for Ransomware Attacks

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in Ransomware
Ransomware was involved in 10 percent of the 450 breaches handled by our Privacy and Data Protection team in 2016. This week’s news about a global ransomware attack is another example that this trend is on the rise. Companies, governments and organizations around the world are grappling with what steps they should take to minimize … Continue Reading

Deeper Dive: Ransomware – WannaCry and the Future of Ransomware-as-a-Service

Photo of Melinda L. McLellanPhoto of James A. ShererBy Melinda L. McLellan and James A. Sherer on Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Incident Response, Ransomware
In our 2017 BakerHostetler Data Security Incident Response Report, we addressed the increasingly ubiquitous scourge of ransomware, one of the fastest-growing types of malware causing data security incidents. We noted that ransomware attacks have been steadily expanding in both frequency and severity, and that those trends seemed set to continue for the foreseeable future. Less than a … Continue Reading

Babies and Baby-making, or Not… Privacy and Security Lessons for the Internet of Things

By Alan L. Friel on Posted in Internet of Things
What do babies, sex toys and wireless head phones have in common? Apparently, the privacy concerns of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state AGs and legislatures, class action plaintiffs, and consumer advocacy groups, at least when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT refers to consumer devices that are connected, directly or … Continue Reading

Latest Data Breach Settlement Illustrates Need for Companies to Prioritize Cybersecurity

By David M. Brown on Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Enforcement, Online Privacy, Retail Industry
On Aug. 5, 2016, the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, announced a $100,000 settlement with an e-retailer following an investigation of a data breach that resulted in the potential exposure of more than 25,000 credit card numbers and other personal information. According to the investigation, on Aug. 7, 2014, in an all-too-common scenario, an … Continue Reading

Unanimous FTC Finds LabMD’s Data Security Practices Violated Section 5 of the FTC Act

By Will R. Daugherty and David M. Brown on Posted in Cybersecurity, Enforcement, Medical Privacy, Online Privacy
On July 29, 2016, a unanimous Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) issued its Opinion and Final Order reversing the decision of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) and holding that LabMD engaged in “unfair” practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act because it failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for personal … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler Data Security Incident Response Report Reveals Being “Compromise Ready” Better Positions Companies to Respond to Incidents

Photo of Theodore J. Kobus IIIBy Theodore J. Kobus III on Posted in Incident Response, News, Online Privacy
On March 30, 2016, we released our second annual Data Security Incident Response Report. Key findings show that phishing/hacking/malware was the cause of 31% of data security incidents during 2015, revealing a shift from 2014 when human error was the leading cause. The report also continues the inaugural-year theme that no industry is immune to … Continue Reading

LabMD and Wyndham Decisions Curtail FTC’s Data Privacy and Security Reach

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonBy Alan L. Friel and Gerald J. Ferguson on Posted in Children’s Privacy, HIPAA/HITECH, Online Privacy
Both the administrative law judge’s decision in LabMD and the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Wyndham, which we previously blogged about, put the FTC on notice that it cannot assume that in the wake of a security breach, allegedly inadequate data security will necessarily constitute an unfair practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act. Further, … Continue Reading

Incident Response Tip: Five Ways to Improve Information Security and Reduce the Impact of a Data Breach

Photo of M. Scott KollerBy M. Scott Koller on Posted in Cybersecurity, Incident Response
The new year will arrive in a few short days and when the bell tolls, it will mark the end of another extremely active year of data breaches. High-profile breaches such as Anthem, Ashley Madison, and the Office of Personnel Management serve as a reminder that it is a matter of when, not if, your … Continue Reading

FCC’s Growing Privacy and Data Security Enforcement

Photo of Patrick H. HaggertyBy Patrick H. Haggerty and F. Paul Pittman on Posted in Data Breaches, Enforcement
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has had a busy 2015, and its presence in the data security regulatory enforcement space will likely continue to grow. Last year, the FCC named Travis LeBlanc as chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Since then, the FCC has brought three separate enforcement actions against companies for allegedly not safeguarding consumers’ … Continue Reading

Does the Government Have Carte Blanche to Retain Seized Data Indefinitely? In Amicus Brief to the Second Circuit, Policy Groups Argue No

By William W. Hellmuth on Posted in Information Security
On July 29, 2015, BakerHostetler filed an amicus brief with the Second Circuit on behalf of the Center for Democracy and Technology, joined by five prominent nonprofit public interest groups, for the en banc rehearing of United States v. Ganias, Case No. 12-240. In Ganias, the Court will grapple with arguments centering on whether the … Continue Reading

A Deeper Dive: Regulatory Investigations Following a Reported Breach

Photo of Theodore J. Kobus IIIBy Theodore J. Kobus III on Posted in Breach Notification, Incident Response, Information Security
In our inaugural Data Security Incident Response Report (the Report), we found that regulators inquired about a company’s breach 31% of the time and multi-state state Attorneys General investigations were launched less than 5% of the time. A post-breach investigation is not guaranteed. Certainly, in large, highly public incidents, companies can expect at least an … Continue Reading

To Err Is Human; to Indemnify, Divine?: Human Foibles in the Cloud

By Tanya Forsheit on Posted in Data Breaches, Incident Response, Information Security
BakerHostetler’s inaugural Data Security Incident Response Report (the “Report”) concluded that employee negligence and theft were two of the top five causes of data security incidents for the more than 200 incidents that we handled in 2014. Needless to say, this raises some important and concerning questions when it comes to the cloud. We note … Continue Reading

The DOJ Sets Out to Establish Standard for Data Security Incident Response and Preparation

By F. Paul Pittman on Posted in Data Breaches, Incident Response
Editor’s Note: The author is the most recent attorney to join our Privacy and Data Security Team. Paul represents clients in responding to potential data security incidents, counsels on incident response preparedness, and works with clients to develop appropriate policies to ensure compliance with applicable law, industry standards, or self-regulatory guidelines. He also counsels clients … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler’s First Data Security Incident Response Report Shows Human Error is Most Often to Blame

Photo of Theodore J. Kobus IIIPhoto of Gerald J. FergusonPhoto of Craig A. HoffmanBy Theodore J. Kobus III, Gerald J. Ferguson and Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Incident Response
We are pleased to announce the release of the first BakerHostetler Data Security Incident Response Report, which provides insights generated from the review of more than 200 incidents that our law firm advised on in 2014. It looks at the nature of the threats faced by companies, as well as detection and response trends, and … Continue Reading

Secret Service Raises Warning About Backoff POS Malware

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Information Security, Online Privacy, Retail Industry
The Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes, issued a security Alert on July 31, 2014, warning of malware named “Backoff” that was being used to steal payment card data from point-of-sale (POS) systems.  The Alert notes that the attackers often gain initial network access by stealing or brute-forcing the passwords for remote desktop applications (e.g., … Continue Reading

Something Wicked This Way Comes – Dark and Dusty Data and the Risk Your Organization Already Owns

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in Data Breaches
This blog post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Discovery Advocate blog. Authored by: James Sherer During the final panel of Thomson Reuters’ 17th Annual eDiscovery & Information Governance in Practice Forum, Thomas Barnett, Ignatius Grande, and Sandra Rampersaud led a lively discussion on Managing Big Data, Dark Data, and Risk.  And while the exchange … Continue Reading

Court Denies Motion for Class Certification in Hannaford

Photo of Erica Gann KitaevBy Erica Gann Kitaev on Posted in Data Breaches
Editor’s note: This is a cross-blog post with BakerHostetler’s Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog.  For the latest class action defense updates, visit www.ClassActionLawsuitDefense.com. In an order surely to reverberate with both the plaintiffs’ and defense bar, on March 20, 2013, Judge D. Brock Hornby of the United States District Court for the District of Maine … Continue Reading

Be Prepared: Redline Version of the HIPAA/HITECH Final Rule

Photo of Theodore J. Kobus IIIBy Theodore J. Kobus III on Posted in HIPAA/HITECH, Medical Privacy
The final rule is significant for any organization that is considered to be a HIPAA covered entity (“CE”) (health systems, health care providers, health plans, etc.) or the more broadly defined business associate (“BA”).  During our initial analysis of the final rule, we note significant changes to the way a breach is defined and we … Continue Reading
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