Yet Another Facebook Breach: Use this opportunity to get smart about your online privacy and security

By Brian Eaton and Scot Ganow on October 16, 2018 Posted in Data Breach

The struggles continue for Facebook. As you hopefully know by now, on Sept. 28, the social media giant announced a security breach affecting 50 million accounts. The breach involved the theft of password tokens that allow a user to stay signed in or to sign into numerous third party applications, such as Spotify, Instagram and Yelp, among thousands of others. We thought to take the opportunity with this most recent breach to remind you about best practices that can help … Read More

Perfect Labor Day Beach Reading: New York’s (Next) Round of Financial Cybersecurity Requirements

By Scot Ganow on August 31, 2018 Posted in Cyber Security

I don’t mean to ruin your holiday weekend, but we thought to send out a friendly reminder on the next set of rolling deadlines and requirements from New York’s financial services cybersecurity law (23 NYCRR 500). A regulated organization that must comply with the law, or “covered entity,” is “any person operating under or required to operate under a license, registration, charter, certificate, permit, accreditation or similar authorization under the Banking Law, the Insurance Law or the Financial … Read More

Proactive Approach to Cybersecurity Pays off in Ohio with New Data Protection Act

By Scot Ganow and Zachary Heck on August 13, 2018 Posted in Cyber Security

Last November, Taft’s Scot Ganow and Bill Wagner wrote on Ohio first-of-its kind state legislation which would provide companies a safe harbor from some litigation resulting from a data breach. This month, Governor John Kasich signed the Ohio Senate Bill 220, also known as the Ohio Data Protection Act, into law. The law goes into effect in December, and is aimed at providing Ohio businesses with special protection from litigation in the event of a security incident or … Read More

Don’t Be Too Big for Your Breaches! Why Encrypted Data Can Be the Best Way to Avoid a Data “Breach”

By Scot Ganow on July 23, 2018 Posted in Data Breach

Taft summer associate Jordan Jennings-Moore contributed to this article.

In today’s world, very few people remain completely unscathed by a data breach somewhere. From Target, to Anthem, Wendy’s or Equifax, individuals across the country have grown accustomed to getting breach notification letters. Most recently, Alabama and South Dakota became the last two jurisdictions in the United States to adopt data breach notification laws. This means that any person or entity conducting business in the U.S. must be … Read More

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