Nicholas Iovino reports: The National Security Agency on Thursday defended hiding key details of its process for deciding whether to exploit or disclose software security flaws that make people vulnerable to hackers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the NSA in 2014 for withholding records on the government’s handling of “zero days,” newly discovered security flaws…
Category: Of Note
Los Angeles physical therapy provider settles HHS charges that it impermissibly disclosed patient information
An announcement by HHS on Feb. 16 seems to have flown under most media radar. It seems that Complete P.T. used patient images and testimonials on their web site without patient consent, generating a complaint to HHS that HHS investigated and confirmed. Complete P.T. has admitted liability, agreed to pay $25,000, and has agreed to a…
California Attorney General Releases Report Defining “Reasonable” Data Security
I’ve previously posted a link to a report by the California Attorney General on breaches in California and recommendations, but I like that this post by Hunton & Williams focuses on the how the recommendations relate to “reasonable security:” Importantly, the Report states that, “[t]he failure to implement all the [Center for Internet Security’s Critical Security]…
Department of Homeland Security Issues Procedures Regarding Sharing Cybersecurity Information
On February 16, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), in collaboration with other federal agencies, released a series of documents outlining procedures for both federal and non-federal entities to share and disseminate cybersecurity information. These documents were released as directed by the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 (the “Act”), signed into law on December 18, 2015. The…
Five Mounties sue RCMP in alleged medical privacy breach
There’s an update to a workplace medical privacy breach involving members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). I’ve been following the case on this blog since July, 2013. In December 2014, the privacy commissioner found that the RCMP had violated the employees’ privacy by turning over their records to a psychologist. In October 2015, there was a…
Data Broker Defendants Settle FTC Charges They Sold Sensitive Personal Information to Scammers
A group of defendants have settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they knowingly provided scammers with hundreds of thousands of consumers’ sensitive personal information – including Social Security and bank account numbers. The proposed federal court orders prohibit John Ayers, LeapLab and Leads Company from selling or transferring sensitive personal information about consumers to third parties. The defendants will also…