Jorge Barrera reports: A well-known U.S. hacker told F.B.I. agents he took momentary control of an airplane’s engines mid-flight by hacking into its in-flight entertainment system, according to a document filed in U.S. federal court and obtained by APTN National News. [Chris] Roberts, who has been interviewed at least three times by the F.B.I. this year,…
Category: Of Note
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center patients victimized by rogue employee of Medical Management LLC
UPMC is only one of “numerous” clients of NC-based Medical Management LLC that have reportedly been notified of data theft by a rogue employee. We’ll have to wait to learn who the other entities are. The following is a press release issued today by UPMC: Because of a data theft at an outside medical billing company,…
FTC Sued Over Refusal to Disclose Data Security Policies
Jenna Greene reports: The Federal Trade Commission this week was sued for refusing to turn over information about how the agency decides to bring data security cases. The Freedom of Information Act suit by Philip Reitinger, a former Department of Homeland Security official who is now president of a cybersecurity company, comes as the FTC defends…
Judge Disagrees With Employee Firing Over HIPAA Violation
Elizabeth Snell reports: A Montana judge recently ruled that a healthcare employee’s HIPAA violation did not preclude her from protection under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The employee had accessed personal information on coworkers for her union-organizing campaign, according to the judge’s decision. Her employer then terminated her, citing a HIPAA violation. However, the judge…
Five Charged in Nationwide Identity Theft Scheme
Conspirators obtain identity information of 125,000 taxpayers and submit alleged false federal income tax returns seeking $6.6 million in refunds from IRS MEDFORD, Ore. – Federal law enforcement agents arrested four individuals in conjunction with a series of search and arrest warrants executed in Maryland and Georgia based on an Oregon federal grand jury indictment…
The CFAA meets the “cannibal cop” in the Second Circuit — and maybe beyond
Orin Kerr writes: The Second Circuit held oral argument Tuesday in United States v. Valle, widely known as the “Cannibal Cop” case. There was a ton of media attention about this case at trial, including the trial judge’s decision to overturn the jury verdict for conspiracy to commit kidnapping on the ground that it was all a fantasy. HBO has already…