October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) kicked off the month by issuing two advisories that aim to increase cybersecurity awareness, assist financial institutions in detecting and reporting ransomware activity, and highlight potential sanctions risks for
Digital Assets in Estate Planning: Cybersecurity Concerns and Considerations
With the rise of the digital world, many estate planning clients have accumulated large collections of “digital assets” that are stored online. In its simplest form, a “digital asset” is a non-physical asset that exists online in electronic format. Most clients preserve digital assets either for their sentimental value or their financial value. Examples of
Hackers Capitalizing on Coronavirus
As people across the country and world try to figure out how to protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus, hackers are working hard to spread their own viruses. Indeed, various cybersecurity firms have reported that the amount of malicious emails containing the word “coronavirus” has significantly increased since the end of January.
Many of
HIPAA 2019 Year in Review: OCR’s Enforcement of HIPAA Security Rule
Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) may yet announce one or two year-end settlements, it appears that 2019 will be known more for the implementation of changes in HIPAA enforcement policy than for any of the particular matters that OCR resolved. Last April, OCR announced that
Health System Hit with More than $2 Million in Civil Penalties under HIPAA
Following on the heels of a few relatively small HIPAA settlements, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it has imposed $2,154,000 in civil monetary penalties against Jackson Health System in Florida for its failure to meet HIPAA privacy and security requirements. The OCR announcement and accompanying
Equifax Reaches Historic $575 Million Settlement Agreement Arising from 2017 Data Breach
Equifax has agreed to pay $575 million to settle consumer as well as state and federal regulatory claims for its 2017 data breach. This is the largest data breach settlement to date.
Continue Reading Equifax Reaches Historic $575 Million Settlement Agreement Arising from 2017 Data Breach
8th Circuit Decision in SuperValu Class Action is a Reminder that Injury and Damages Aren’t the Same Thing.
Last Friday we blogged on the Saks data breach class action, and in the process mentioned a trend among federal courts to reject fear of future identity theft claims in retail breach cases. As we explained, because retail breaches rarely involve theft of social security numbers, date of birth, healthcare information or other data that can be used to commit identity theft, courts have typically found that plaintiffs in such cases lack standing to pursue their claims in federal court.
Continue Reading 8th Circuit Decision in SuperValu Class Action is a Reminder that Injury and Damages Aren’t the Same Thing.
Court Ruling in Saks Data Breach Case Illustrates That Threshold for Article III Standing Is Low
For years, plaintiffs in data breach class actions have argued that the threshold for Article III standing is low – and increasingly courts are accepting that argument. The Saks data breach class action, pending in the Southern District of New York, is the latest example of a federal court finding that Article III standing exists even where the plaintiff’s asserted injuries are very minimal.
Continue Reading Court Ruling in Saks Data Breach Case Illustrates That Threshold for Article III Standing Is Low
A Modest HIPAA Settlement
The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) announced that it has entered into a settlement with a business associate that provides electronic medical records services to health care providers. The resolution agreement requires Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc. (MIE) to pay $100,000 and adhere to a corrective action plan.
The Office for Civil Rights Speaks: HIPAA Liabilities Contained (Except When They Aren’t)
After a quiet winter, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) revived with the spring, issuing a set of frequently asked questions and two recent announcements.
The FAQs address the situation where an individual requests a covered entity to disclose protected health information (“PHI”) to an app. The covered entity