Loyal readers are familiar with the DOJ’s “China Initiative,” launched in November 2018 to prosecute the theft of U.S. trade secrets by or for Chinese interests. Attorney General Barr reaffirmed the DOJ’s commitment “to...more
With it being Halloween, October being National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and 2019 drawing to an end, let’s take a look at the data privacy breaches giving compliance professionals a fright this year! ...more
Amidst mounting pressure to pursue cybersecurity more aggressively, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the federal government’s most active enforcer in the space, has recently imposed increasingly stringent cybersecurity...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine New York's new laws expanding consumer protection for data breaches, the D.C. Circuit's two rulings deepening the split regarding standing in data...more
Equifax has agreed to pay $575 million to settle consumer as well as state and federal regulatory claims for its 2017 data breach. This is the largest data breach settlement to date. ...more
On its face, last week’s report that the number of data breaches reported last year to New York’s Attorney General spiked to an all-time high of 1,583 – up 23 percent from 2016 – was not good news....more
Six months after a massive data breach at credit reporting company Equifax, Inc. handed hackers the personal information of nearly 150 million Americans, the fallout continues. Equifax first disclosed in September that...more
Any entity that does business in these states or maintains confidential information of their residents should monitor the proposed data breach legislation discussed below: Oregon, New York, Alabama, and Rhode Island....more
Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday at a hearing entitled “The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council” (FSOC), Treasury Secretary Mnuchin indicated that he intends to discuss...more
Equifax announced on September 7, 2017 a massive data breach affecting an estimated 143 million consumers. Richard Cordray, the then Director of the CFPB, shortly thereafter authorized an investigation according to several...more
January 29 was the first day that tax returns could be filed for tax year 2017. The IRS expects approximately 90% of returns this year to be filed electronically, and overall 70% of taxpayers should receive a tax refund,...more
New York State regulators won’t be letting Equifax, Inc. off-the-hook any time soon for last year’s massive data breach that affected more than 145 million Americans....more
UNITED STATES - Regulatory—Policy, Best Practices, and Standards - United States and China Renew Promise Not to Hack - On October 4, U.S. and Chinese officials agreed to not engage in targeted hacking. Per a...more
As 2017 draws to a close, data breach class actions abound, while questions regarding what suffices for Article III standing in these cases remain—with litigants hoping the Supreme Court will soon weigh in....more
The fallout from the Equifax data breach continues, reaching other credit reporting companies and all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. What happened - In early September, Equifax disclosed that roughly 145 million...more
The latest large consumer data breach, this time involving Equifax, has also shed a sharp light on an ongoing controversy about consumers’ access to justice. In taking steps to ameliorate its PR crisis, Equifax found itself...more
It was another chaotic week for Equifax Inc., still scrambling to stem the torrent of bad news after its massive data breach last month that has potentially affected more than half of the U.S.’s adult population....more
This week, a high profile plaintiffs’ firm (Edelson) stated that “if done right,” the data breach class actions against Equifax should yield more than $1 billion in cash going directly to more than 143 million consumers...more
In the wake of last month’s historic cyber breach of Equifax, which resulted in the theft of sensitive personal information belonging to over 140 million Americans, states have wasted no time in seeking a greater role in...more
A financial index provider foretold the Equifax Inc. data breach more than a year ago, warning that the rating agency “is vulnerable to data theft and security breaches.”...more
It is the dust in end that Equifax created from its statements over the past week and actions which led to the massive data breach in the first place. The former head of the company, Richard Smith, testified before Congress...more
Richard Smith, former Chairman and CEO of Equifax, faced his third congressional hearing in two days, appearing this afternoon before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee to discuss...more
Former Equifax chief Richard Smith returned to Capitol Hill for a second day of congressional hearings into his company’s data breach, this time appearing before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. ...more
Equifax’s ex-CEO Richard Smith will be on the Hill today to address the a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Smith is expected to report that a “widespread breakdown in security safeguards” at his former...more
The cities of Chicago and San Francisco and the Massachusetts Attorney General have filed the first enforcement actions against Equifax following the announcement of a data breach affecting an estimated 143 million consumers....more