Luke Huigsloot reports: The Australian government is being pushed to ban the payment of cyber ransoms, usually demanded in cryptocurrency, following a local business suffering a mass data breach and subsequent ransom demand. […] The Australian government’s lead cybersecurity agency, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), currently recommends that victims of ransomware attacks never pay…
Category: Breach Laws
HHS Office for Civil Rights Announces the Expiration of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency HIPAA Notifications of Enforcement Discretion
Notifications of Enforcement Discretion expire at 11:59 pm on May 11, 2023 Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announces that the Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health…
Battle could be brewing over new FCC data breach reporting rules
Cynthia Brumfield reports: On January 6, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to update its data breach reporting rules for telecommunications carriers. “The law requires carriers to protect sensitive consumer information but, given the increase in frequency, sophistication, and scale of data leaks, we must update our rules to…
HIPAA: Deficient or Miscast
Matt Fisher writes: The development of new technology in healthcare and the massive expansion in sources of healthcare data have both created many complications when it comes to protecting and securing sensitive information about individuals. Inevitably, the discussion then turns to the role of HIPAA, which then turns to HIPAA not meeting current needs. A recent…
So you leaked data on BreachForums, but weren’t the hacker? Can you be prosecuted for leaking?
In the wake of the arrest of “Pompompurin,” BreachForums’ self-proclaimed owner and moderator, DataBreaches has been contacted by a number of anxious folks who want to know if they are at risk of being arrested for their own actions. Obviously, DataBreaches is not a lawyer or any kind of authority and can’t provide any assurances. …
UK law: Ethical hackers urged to respond to Computer Misuse Act reform proposals
Alex Scroxton reports: Ethical hackers, security researchers and consultants, and the community at large are being urged to step up and make their voices heard as the government explores a series of proposed changes to the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) of 1990. The long-awaited consultation, which has been running since February, is seeking views on a…