As part of the Biden Administration’s efforts to align energy cybersecurity efforts across the country, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) has funded the release of a set of energy distribution cybersecurity baselines for entities participating in the nationwide grid transition.
On February 22, 2024, the DOE announced its support for the release of cybersecurity
Latest from Security, Privacy and the Law
The Federal Communications Commission Updates Its Data Breach Rules
On December 21, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission released an order updating its data breach rules. These updated rules require telecommunications providers to report breaches of customer proprietary network information, such as numbers that have been dialed and when they have been dialed, but also require reporting of personally-identifiable information (PII), such as driver’s
FBI and CISA Issue Advisory on Scattered Spider Ransomware Attacks
Key Takeaways:
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have jointly issued a cybersecurity advisory in response to recent activity by the threat actor group known as Scattered Spider.
- Scattered Spider is known to target large companies holding sensitive data – including financial services, telecommunications, business process outsourcing, hospitality,
CISA Publishes Mitigation Guide to Combat Cyber Threats in the Healthcare and Public Health Sectors
If you need a little intellectual stimulation after hours of Thanksgiving turkey and football, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has just the thing — the new CISA Mitigation Guide for the Healthcare and Public Health Sectors. This somewhat technical guide is a little dry, but it offers solid recommendations and sugested
Your Password Can’t Possibly Be This Bad, Can It?
NordPass (the purveyor of a password manager) has assembled a list of the top 20 passwords in healthcare, based on usage by the world’s largest companies. According to NordPass’s analysis, the “top” 20 passwords are:
Massachusetts Extends Protections for Counseling Records of Survivors of Sexual Assault
Massachusetts Extends Protections for Counseling Records of Survivors of Sexual Assault
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in In the Matter of a Motion to Compel, SJC-13336 that the Superior Court could not order a Massachusetts counseling center to turn over, at the behest of a Rhode Island court, counseling records of the alleged
President Biden Issues Executive Order on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Settings
- This executive order (EO) directs federal agencies to review and develop policies to guide the use of artificial intelligence that touches every sector of the economy.
- The EO directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an HHS AI Task Force to develop a strategic plan on the responsible deployment
NY State Education Department Bans Facial Recognition Technology
In late September, the NY State Education Department issued a two-page order providing that NY public schools may not purchase or utilize facial recognition technology. The Department relied on a report issued by the NY Office of Information Technology Services in August that was critical of the privacy implications of facial recognition technology, but left
HHS OCR/ONC Announce Latest Version of Security Risk Assessment Tool
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) have released version 3.4 of their Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool.
The SRA Tool is designed to help healthcare providers conduct a risk analysis as required by the HIPAA
New EU-US Data Privacy Framework Promises Greater Ease for Cross-Border Transfers, but Uncertainty Remains
Ed. Note: Thank you to Summer Associate Nicole Onderdonk for her significant contributions to this post.
On July 10, 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF, or “Privacy Framework”), which establishes the Privacy Framework as an authorized mechanism under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)