Ben Kochman reports: The Federal Trade Commission has called on Congress to “clarify” its authority to regulate data breaches, while responding to the White House’s request for advice on how the administration should handle consumer privacy. In comments posted last week to the U.S. Department of Commerce‘s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the FTC said…
Category: Federal
Canadian Regulator Issues Final Guidance on New Data Breach Reporting Requirements
Hunton writes: On October 29, 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the “OPC”) released final guidance (“Final Guidance”) regarding how businesses may satisfy the reporting and record-keeping obligations under Canada’s new data breach reporting law. The law, effective November 1, 2018, requires organizations subject to the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic…
Is Your e-PHI Secure? ONC and OCR Update HIPAA Security Risk Assessment Tool
Valerie K. Jackson of Jackson Lewis writes: October 2018 marks the 15th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. In honor of this occasion, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have jointly launched an updated HIPAA Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool to help covered entities and…
House Financial Services Committee passes R.6743
Aaron Lancaster of BakerHostetler has a great privacy rewind for the week that includes action in Congress. He writes: House Committee Passes Federal Data Breach Notification Bill for Financial Institutions The House Financial Services Committee passed R. 6743, the Consumer Information Notification Requirement Act, which would require financial institutions to notify affected customers of a data…
FDA aims to strengthen cybersecurity of medical devices
Danielle Brown reports: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working to strengthen the cybersecurity of medical devices in the wake of computer-hacking threats, according to a report by the Star Tribune. According to the report, FDA staff members are examining companies’ “preparations for potential computer-hacking threats to devices that millions of Americans depend on.”…
New Federal Law Makes Credit Freezes Free for All Consumers
From EPIC.org: Starting next week, consumers will be able to “freeze” their credit reports at no cost. A credit freeze restricts public access to a consumer’s credit report, making it much more difficult for identity thieves to open fraudulent accounts. Previously state laws allowed credit bureaus to charge consumers $2 to $10 place or lift…