Joseph Lazzarotti and d Maya Atrakchi of JacksonLewis write: In recent years, there has been an uptick of W-2 phishing scams, and their consequences for an employer extend well beyond leaked data, including potential employee class action litigation. Just last week, a federal court in Illinois rejected a motion for class certification in a data…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
HITECH Amendment Provides Some Protection For Covered Entities and Business Associates that Adopt Recognized Security Standards
Anna D. Kraus, Libbie Canter, Tara Carrier, and Olivia Vega of Covington & Burling write: On January 5, 2021, an amendment to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act was signed into law. The amendment requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to “consider certain recognized security practices of covered…
Ransomware payments are going down as more victims decide not to pay up
Danny Palmer reports: The average ransom paid to cyber criminals following a ransomware attack is falling as more companies become reluctant to give into extortion demands. Analysis by cybersecurity company Coveware has found that the average ransom payment paid following a ransomware attack decreased by a third in the final quarter of 2020, dropping to $154,108 from $233,817…
China Has Stolen 80% Of American Adults’ Personal Data, Expert Claims
Daniel Richardson reports: Bill Evanina, former director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, appeared as a guest on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, January 31, and gave a stark warning about data being used by China. During the programme, the former director suggested that Beijing is attempting to collect the medical data of Americans….
Lawmakers press NSA for answers about Juniper hack from 2015
Justin Katz reports: A group of Democratic lawmakers is calling on the National Security Agency to account for its part in the five-year-old breach of Juniper Networks, following a congressional investigation of the company last year. “The American people have a right to know why NSA did not act after the Juniper hack to protect…
Russian hack brings changes, uncertainty to US court system
MaryClaire Dale of AP reports: Trial lawyer Robert Fisher is handling one of America’s most prominent counterintelligence cases, defending an MIT scientist charged with secretly helping China. But how he’ll handle the logistics of the case could feel old school: Under new court rules, he’ll have to print out any highly sensitive documents and hand-deliver…