Mimoza Picari and Keida Kostreci report: First came the news that the personal data of over 900,000 Albanians might be in the hands of party officials. Then came the news that the journalists who broke the story had been ordered by an anti-corruption court to hand over devices, including computers and cellphones. As Albania heads to…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Biden administration unveils plan to defend electric sector from cyberattacks
Shannon Vavra reports: The Biden administration is buckling down on cyber threats to U.S. power infrastructure. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced a 100-day plan to help shore up the U.S. electric power system against cyber threats Tuesday. The plan, rolled out with the private sector and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency…
How China’s cybercrime underground is making money off big data
Intel 471 writes: Both of these things are true: Big data is big business, and cybercriminals love money. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that these two ideas have blended together in some corners of the cybercrime underground. Through Intel 471’s observation and analysis of open source information and behavior on multiple closed forums, we…
The Case For and Against Criminalizing Ransomware Payments
Stuart Reed, UK Director, Orange Cyberdefense, writes: … Let’s first look at the reasons why ransomware payments should be made illegal. First, the obvious. Ransomware payments essentially fund cybercrime, and this is why ransomware attacks are becoming more common. There is no doubt that paying out leads to more attacks. […] On the other hand,…
As States Offer Data Breach ‘Safe Harbors,’ Not All Companies Are Receptive
Victoria Hudgins reports: While federal lawmakers might be hesitant to enact national data privacy legislation, some states are quickly moving to define reasonable cybersecurity—and protect those that adhere to them. But even as legislators extend “safe harbor” protections to encourage cybersecurity, lawyers noted some companies might ignore the incentive to avoid burdensome responsibilities. For companies that are already compliant…
Supreme Court holds that monetary relief is unavailable under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act
Brian Wolfman notes: The first paragraph of the Court’s unanimous opinion in AMG Capital Management v. FTC sums it up: Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes the Commission to obtain, “in proper cases,” a “permanent injunction” in federal court against “any person, partnership, or corporation” that it believes “is violating, or is about to…