Inflation Reduction Act
DOJ to Federal Contractors: Report Cyberattacks or Face the False Claims Act
The Department of Justice announced a new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative on October 6 – the latest move in a series of federal efforts to address the recent uptick in major cyberattacks. DOJ’s Initiative aims to hold contractors and recipients to...
Ransomware Victims Told to Think Twice Before Paying Hackers
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) issued an updated advisory warning all ransomware victims that if they succumb to ransomware demands and pay foreign actors who are subject to U.S. sanctions, the victims...
Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Cyber Environment
This 60 minute webinar features experienced practitioners from Flashpoint and Bracewell LLP who will take you on a guided tour of the dark web to explain how cyber attacks unfold, and how you can mitigate the consequences of such attacks...
China's New Data Privacy Law Is Sweeping and Serious: Avoid the High Cost of Noncompliance
Last Friday, China passed the world’s harshest data privacy law, threatening violators with fines of up to 50 million Yuan (or about $7.7 million at the time of publication) or 5% of annual revenue. The Personal Information Protection Law (“PIPL”)...
SEC Is Still Cyber Serious About Disclosures
On the heels of the First American enforcement action and settlement , this week, the SEC announced a settlement with Pearson plc in connection with a 2018 cyber breach. The SEC disclosed that Pearson, a London-based educational company, agreed to...
Privilege Dwindles for Data Breach Reports
Data privacy lawyers and cyber security incident response professionals are losing sleep over the growing number of federal courts ordering disclosure of post-data breach forensic reports. Following the decisions in Capital One and Clark Hill , another district court has...
Don't Panic-Buy Your Cyber Policy: Evaluating New Approaches to Cyber Risk
Panic-buying made a post-pandemic comeback when a critical channel for gasoline, diesel, and jet-fuel was forced shut down in the wake of a ransomware attack. Suddenly, gas became the new toilet paper: a treasured commodity. Upticks in devastating ransomware attacks...
SEC Gets Cyber-Serious About Disclosures
As cyberattacks continue to attract greater attention, the SEC has taken an additional step in its efforts to bring enforcement actions related to cyber disclosures. On June 14, the SEC announced settled charges against a real estate settlement services company...
ESG Seminar: Best Practices for M&A and Quick Hits on In Different Disciplines
ESG Considerations and Best Practices for Mergers and Acquisitions - Ben Martin Quick Hits on ESG Issues in Different Disciplines Cybersecurity Strategic and Crisis Communication - Scott Segal Labor Environmental - Matt Paulson Executive Compensation - Matthew Grunert Intellectual Property...
Adding Insult to Injury - Texas Creates Cyber Wall of Shame
This week Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law HB 3746 , which amends the state’s data breach notification statute. Following states like Maine, California, and Washington, HB 3746 requires the Texas Attorney General (AG) to publish a public record...
Avoid a Fall Out With the Feds: Planning for Increased Cyber Regulations
The cyber landscape is changing once again, in terms of impact, policy and potential exposure. In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack , the Biden administration released a long-awaited Executive Order intended to strengthen US cybersecurity infrastructure. The order...
Crisis Management for Utilities: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic
Article originally published in the May 3, 2021 issue of Power Magazine The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for business. Utilities have had to quickly overcome the challenges associated with this crisis, without letting critical services such as heat...
What Will the SEC's ESG Enforcement Look Like? Cyber Cases Offer Clues
As the SEC has become more vocal in its expectations for environmental, social, and government (ESG) disclosure, serious questions remain about how ESG matters will be investigated and what enforcement measures might look like . Indicators suggest that the SEC...
The Battle of the Bills Begins: Proposed Federal Data Privacy Legislation Aims to End Patchwork Problem But Increases Enforcement
After years of advocacy from both sides of the aisle and growing concerns about challenges created by state-based solutions, 2021 is poised to be a bellwether year for Congressional debate over federal data privacy regulation. On March 10th, Representative Suzan...
Florida Water System Hack Highlights Challenges for Public Utility Cybersecurity
Earlier this month, fears usually confined to dystopian novels and Hollywood movies were realized in Oldsmar, Florida when an unknown hacker breached the city’s water treatment system by successfully accessing its control systems and increasing sodium hydroxide to deadly levels...