Soon after the Chinese generative artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek emerged to compete with ChatGPT and Gemini, it was forced offline when “large-scale malicious attacks” targeted its servers. Speculation points...more
2/7/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Machine Learning ,
National Security ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Management
Last year, the Illinois Judicial Conference Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (IJC) was created to develop recommendations for how the Illinois Judicial Branch should regulate and use artificial intelligence (AI) in the...more
1/31/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Data Privacy ,
Equal Protection ,
Illinois ,
Judges ,
Legal Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
State and Local Government
On January 22, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint advisory related to previous vulnerabilities in the Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance,...more
MGM Resorts agreed to pay $45 million to settle over a dozen class action lawsuits concerning 2019 and 2023 data breaches. A federal court in Nevada preliminarily approved the settlement, which, according to lawyers, covers...more
We have repeatedly warned our readers about malicious QR codes and their use by threat actors.
Threat actors are now using these codes to disguise packages as gifts....more
1/30/2025
/ Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Identity Theft ,
Personal Data ,
Personal Information ,
Scams
In its continued concentration on the collection and use of consumers’ precise geolocation, on January 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled with General Motors (GM) over allegations that it collected, used,...more
Despite bipartisan support for banning TikTok – essentially spyware presenting a national security threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – in the United States (as done by India) and the Supreme Court’s upholding...more
1/24/2025
/ China ,
Data Privacy ,
Executive Orders ,
Free Speech ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Privacy Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Social Media ,
Spyware ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration
This week, I received a fake text message (a smish) saying my E-ZPass account was overdue and that I urgently needed to pay it. That’s a new one and, apparently, quite effective. Luckily, I knew it was a scam, but others were...more
American Addiction Centers (AAC) has notified 422,424 individuals that their personal information was stolen in a cyber-attack attributed to the Rhysida criminal organization. The incident was discovered on September 26,...more
We previously reported that Ascension Health detected a cyber-attack on May 8, 2024, that affected clinical operations in Ascension facilities in six states....more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been on a mission to get the message across that it is serious about companies collecting, using, and selling sensitive location data of consumers and that it is closely watching these...more
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced on October 21, 2024, that his office has settled a data breach case against Guardian Analytics, Inc. for $500,000. The data breach affected the personal information of...more
10/25/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Risk Assessment ,
Settlement
As a Rhode Islander, I am a big fan of our former Governor and now Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo. She has always had her eye on the ball of the rapidly developing data privacy and cybersecurity risks and threats to...more
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued helpful recommendations for consumers to consider when securing home routers. The publication, issued on September 10, 2024, emphasizes how important it is...more
HealthEquity, an administrator of workplace benefits for more than 15 million people, is notifying 4.3 million individuals, starting on August 9, 2024, that their personal information was compromised. The compromised data...more
On July 10, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted plaintiffs’ Motion for Final Approval of a $12.2 million proposed settlement by Advocate Aurora Health to settle allegations against the...more
Some writers (not from my great state of Rhode Island) act like Rhode Island has been behind the times when it comes to data privacy and security when discussing Rhode Island’s new privacy law. I feel a need to explain that...more
7/12/2024
/ Consent ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
COPPA ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Processors ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Notification Requirements ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Policy ,
Rhode Island ,
State Privacy Laws
Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Report, a must-read publication, was published on May 1, 2024. The report indicates that “Over the past 10 years, the use of stolen credentials has appeared in almost one-third (31%) of all...more
Impersonation schemes are on the rise, and artificial intelligence (including deep fakes and voice cloning) will only make these schemes more difficult to detect.
Threat actors are emboldened, evidenced by the fact that...more
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed legislation on May 22, 2024, that will shield private entities from class action lawsuits stemming from a cybersecurity event unless the event was caused by willful, wanton, or gross...more
CYBERSECURITY -
CISA Issues Advisory on Black Basta Ransomware -
On May 10, 2024, CISA, along with the FBI, HHS, and MS-ISAC, issued a joint Cybersecurity Advisory relating to Black Basta ransomware affiliates “that...more
5/17/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
NIST ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Mitigation
CYBERSECURITY -
Health Care Entities Continue to Get Pummeled by Cybersecurity Attacks -
The newest health care entity to be hit by a cyberattack is Ascension Health, which operates 140 hospitals and 40 assisted living...more
5/13/2024
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Snapchat ,
Surveillance ,
TikTok
CYBERSECURITY -
Health Care Entities Continue to Get Pummeled by Cybersecurity Attacks -
The newest health care entity to be hit by a cyberattack is Ascension Health, which operates 140 hospitals and 40 assisted living...more
5/10/2024
/ Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Information Sharing ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Social Media
The newest health care entity to be hit by a cyberattack is Ascension Health, which operates 140 hospitals and 40 assisted living facilities in 19 states. Ascension confirmed that it has been hit by a cybersecurity attack and...more
CYBERSECURITY -
CISA + Partners Issue Alert for Protection of Water Systems, Dams, Energy + Food + Ag -
In response to the growing threat by pro-Russia hacktivists, on May 1, 2023, CISA and other national agency...more
5/3/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Location Data ,
OCR