Seven North Carolina Colleges Secretly Tracked Social Media Posts of Students, Protesters
"A new report shows seven North Carolina universities monitored social media platforms to keep an eye on things like protests or...more
IRS Says It Exposed Some Confidential Taxpayer Data on Website "Tax agency says error led to posting about some taxpayers with IRAs." Why this is important: In the last issue of Decoded, we discussed the fact that the IRS...more
Mortgage Lenders are Starting to Go Broke Amid Rate Spike and US Mortgage Lenders are Starting to Go Bankrupt — How This One Factor Could be Triggering the Worst Surge of Failures Since 2008
"Last year, two-thirds of the...more
CFPB Takes Action to Protect the Public from Shoddy Data Security Practices
"The bureau said the circular does not suggest that particular security practices are specifically required under the Consumer Financial...more
9/7/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Financial Institutions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Biden Signs Bills Aimed at Catching Pandemic Business Loan Cheats -
"President Joe Biden signed a pair of bills that will give the Justice Department more time to investigate and prosecute people accused of fraudulently...more
CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs, Strengthen Supply Chains, and Counter China
"Spurred by the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, companies have announced nearly $50 billion in additional...more
Financial Services Committee Passes Bills to Protect Consumers
"The House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), passed eight bills to strengthen oversight of our nation’s affordable housing...more
8/11/2022
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Data Privacy, Abortion Limits Set to Collide Post-Roe "Even before the June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, privacy advocates, concerned that data on women seeking abortions could be used to target...more
Is the U.S. Finally Getting a Comprehensive Cybersecurity and Data Protection Law? What You Need to Know About the Proposed American Data Privacy and Protection Act -
In the beginning of the 2000s, as a result of the...more
7/21/2022
/ Biotechnology ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CRISPR ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Nanotechnology
A New Student Loan Company is Now Taking Over the Accounts of Public Servants Seeking Debt Cancellation
"This also comes as borrowers have 4 months left to apply for extended student-loan relief."
Why this is important:...more
AHA Expresses Member Support for PATCH Act, Medical Device Security "In a letter addressed to Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who first introduced the PATCH Act, the AHA said that the association and...more
7/8/2022
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Devices
Universities Share Lessons Learned from Ransomware Attacks
"According to a recent Sophos poll of IT professionals, 44 percent of educational institutions suffered ransomware attacks in 2020, and 58 percent of those hit...more
6/28/2022
/ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Medical Devices ,
Ransomware ,
Technology Sector ,
Universities
The PATCH Act: Protecting Medical Devices from Cyber Attacks -
In a previous issue of Decoded, we discussed the alarming fact that many medical devices, including those implanted in patients' bodies, are leaving the...more
6/10/2022
/ Augmented Reality ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medical Devices ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
Student Loan Forgiveness is Completely Unfair to These People
"If President Joe Biden proceeds with wide-scale student loan cancellation, the most likely beneficiaries could include federal student loan borrowers who earn...more
House Subcommittee Debates Device Remanufacturing Definition, Sends User-Fees Bill to Next Stage
"Proponents of the remanufacturing bill are looking to better distinguish between medical device remanufacturing, and...more
5/27/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GAO ,
Medical Devices ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware
Avoiding Data Breaches: A Guide for Boards and C-Suites
"Recently, plaintiffs have targeted corporate board members and C-level executives alleging that their data privacy–related claims result from a breach of fiduciary...more
5/12/2022
/ Biometric Information ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Digital Assets ,
Facebook ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
CFPB Invokes Dormant Authority to Examine Nonbank Companies Posing Risks to Consumers and CFPB Claims Oversight Over More Entities Including Fintechs; Says It Will Publish Supervisory Determinations -
"The CFPB is also...more
Data Breach Corner - Cash App Data Breach Affects More than 8M Users -
"A former employee of the company downloaded reports containing the personal information of U.S. users."
Why this is important: Not all data...more
Lessons in Arbitration Construction Dispute -
In December 2021, Alex Turner, Jeff Patton, and Lee Denton in Spilman's Winston-Salem office arbitrated a construction dispute in Norfolk, Virginia on behalf of Sure Lift,...more
Britain Announces Plans to Mint Its Own NFT as It Looks to ‘Lead the Way’ in Crypto -
"Glen said the government was also 'widening' its gaze to look at other aspects of crypto, including so-called Web3, a movement that...more
4/15/2022
/ Authentication ,
Biometric Information ,
Biotechnology ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Assets ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Smart Contracts
Biden Administration Extends Pause on Federal Student Loan Repayments Through August
"The repayment freeze, which has been in place since the beginning of the pandemic, had been scheduled to expire on May 1."
Why this...more
Massachusetts-Based Background Check Company Creative Services Faces Multiple Lawsuits Over Data Breach -
"'CSI determined that certain files dating from November 2018 to November 2021 may have been copied from their...more
4/4/2022
/ Confidential Information ,
CRISPR ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
TransUnion LLC v Ramirez
The Cryptocurrency Revolution and President Biden's Formal Recognition -
Out of the ashes of the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin sprang up like an insurgency, targeting both the unbridled activity of large financial...more
3/18/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
COPPA ,
CRISPR ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
FinTech ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hackers ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet of Things ,
Medical Devices ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Student Loans: Stressors and Pitfalls as Repayments Begin and CFPB Actions Against Alleged Fraudulent Conduct -
On March 13, 2020, near the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S., the CARES Act included a pause for all...more
3/10/2022
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Russia ,
Student Loans ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine
War in the Time of Crypto -
"In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which side is crypto helping? Both."
Why this is important: The world continues to watch Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it dominates news outlets. An...more
3/2/2022
/ Caremark claim ,
CRISPR ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Digital Currency ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
IRS ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
Vaccine Passports