So Goes California, So Goes the Country?: The Golden State Again Breaks New Privacy Law Ground

By Scot Ganow and William C. Wagner on July 11, 2018 Posted in data privacy, Uncategorized

Rebekah Mackey, Taft summer associate, contributed to this article.

Just months after the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or “GDPR” changed the landscape of data privacy around the globe, California reaffirmed its position as the United States pioneer of consumer-friendly data privacy protections with the state legislature’s passage of Assembly Bill No. 375.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“Act”) was originally a ballot initiative to be voted on by California residents in November, but the fate of the … Read More

Alabama Rolls with Tide as Last State to Adopt Breach Notification Law

By Zachary Heck on April 30, 2018 Posted in Data Breach

On March 28, 2018, over sixteen years after California passed the nation’s first data breach notification law, Alabama became the fiftieth, and final, state to join the club. As a result, any person or entity conducting business in the United States must be prepared to safeguard personal identifying information belonging to customers, clients, and employees, while also being ready to comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

What Data?
The Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018 … Read More

Data Protection: Key Takeaways for Consumers and Businesses After the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Scandal

By Scot Ganow on March 26, 2018 Posted in Data Breach, Privacy Policy

In a local news interview, I was recently asked to comment on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica story involving the unauthorized use of Facebook user profile information by Cambridge Analytica for profiling and targeting purposes. The focus of the interview was what consumers can do to better protect themselves. However, there are learning opportunities for businesses too. Here are some quick points to consider for both parties.

Consumers

Your choices matter most. I beat this drum pretty heavily, but it is

Data security: The bad guys are stepping up their game. Are you?

By Jocelyn Coney on March 23, 2018 Posted in Cyber Security, Phishing attack

Earlier this year, there was a report on a new spear-phishing attack seeking to steal people’s sensitive data. The spear-phishing email message, apparently drafted to look like it came from FedEx, included a link that took the recipient of the email to a Google Docs page and then used a script to download malware to the employee’s computer. What was notable about this spear-phishing attempt was that the email “bait” actually included employee sensitive data, such as his or her … Read More

What’s in a notice? Privacy notices under the GDPR

By Cara Johnson on February 28, 2018 Posted in data privacy, Privacy Policy

U.S. privacy law is based on the principles of notice and consent – for instance, under FTC and state consumer protection laws, consumers given fair notice and the opportunity to consent generally cannot complain about the use of their data.

But as we have noted in prior posts, the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which will become effective May 25 of this year, is more comprehensive than any U.S. privacy law in most respects. It treats personal data (defined … Read More

The Enemy Within: Why Employees Top the List of Security Risks Each Year (and what you can do to make sure yours don’t)

By Scot Ganow on February 15, 2018 Posted in Cyber Security

Every year, the culprit that tops the list of information security risk is the same one from the previous year, and the year before that: your employees. Sure, hackers and technical failures get a lot of attention, but time and again it is the low-tech failures of employees that lead to security incidents and data breaches. To be clear, it is rarely the disgruntled employee, but more often the apathetic or unaware employee that clicks the phishing link or lets … Read More

GSA is Updating its Cybersecurity and Incident Reporting Requirements

By William C. Wagner on February 15, 2018 Posted in GSA

Beginning in April 2018, the General Services Administration (GSA) will publish for 60 days of public comment updates to its cybersecurity requirements for eventual integration into the GSA Acquisition Regulation (GSAR). [GSAR Case 2016-G511, Information and Information Systems Security, 83 Fed. Reg. 1941 (Jan. 12, 2018).] Then, beginning in August 2018, the GSA will publish for 60 days of public comments updates to its cyber incident reporting requirements for GSA contractors. [GSAR Case 2016-515, Cyber Incident Reporting, 83 F.R. 1941 … Read More

NIST SP 800-171 Resources for Government Contractors

By William C. Wagner on February 9, 2018 Posted in NIST Guide

There are several helpful resources for contractors looking to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technologies Special Publication 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations.” To help contractors meet the requirements, NIST recently issued NIST Handbook 162, entitled “NIST MEP Cybersecurity Self-Assessment Handbook For Assessing NIST SP 800-171 Security Requirements in Response to DFARS Cybersecurity Requirements.” The Handbook provides a step-by-step guide to assessing a manufacturer’s information systems against the security requirements in … Read More

When can a policyholder select defense counsel in Indiana?

By William C. Wagner on February 5, 2018 Posted in Defense Counsel, Insurance

It seems like I get this question once every couple of months.

Hey Bill, my company just got sued. After paying premiums for years, I finally had to make a claim. My insurance company wrote me a “reservation of rights” letter. They offered to have one of their “panel counsel” defend my company, but then they listed 15 reasons why they don’t need to cover the lawsuit, including that there is no “covered claim,” the event was not an “occurrence” … Read More