The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued on November 1 a Financial Trend Analysis regarding ransomware-related Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) filings during the second half of 2021 (the “Report”). This publication follows up on a similar ransomware trend analysis issued by FinCEN regarding the first half of 2021
Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser gave his first public comments since April last Thursday at Ballard Spahr LLP’s 2022 Annual Colorado Privacy Summit. In an hour-long fireside chat with Ballard Spahr’s Co-Chair of Privacy and Data Security Greg Szewczyk, AG Weiser discussed the rulemaking process under the Colorado Privacy Act. A recording of the interview
The CFPB recently published a circular confirming that covered persons and service providers under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) may violate the CFPA’s prohibition against unfair acts or practices when they fail to adequately safeguard consumer information. However, the lack of clear substantive standards creates uncertainty as to what the CFPB would deem to be adequate data security practices.
Pursuant to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the FTC and federal banking agencies have promulgated rules and interagency guidelines requiring financial institutions to establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of customer information. Such safeguards include restricted access to customer information, encryption of information, and periodic reports on the information security program to the board of directors, among other requirements. In the August 11, 2022 circular, the CFPB stated that failure to comply with these specific requirements may also be an unfair act or practice under the CFPA in certain circumstances, but “[w]hile these requirements often overlap, they are not coextensive.” This leaves open the question of what exact security measures companies would need to implement in order to avoid an unfairness violation under the CFPA.
Continue Reading CFPB Warns Failure to Safeguard Consumer Data May Be Unfair Act or Practice
Greg Szewczyk and Phil Yannella sat down with Kimberly Klayman to give a privacy update for startups in Technical.ly. Read the full interview here.
In a report released June 21, 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Federal Insurance Office (FIO) to jointly assess whether the risk to critical infrastructure and potential financial exposures from catastrophic cyber incidents warrant
Businesses with automatic renewal contracts—including subscriptions—should take note of Colorado’s new law that went into effect earlier this year on January 1, 2022. While companies subject to other state’s auto-renewal laws and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (“ROSCA”) will be familiar with the three-prong approach of upfront clear disclosure, simple cancellation, and ongoing reminders,
The last few months have seen a flurry of new federal cybersecurity incident reporting requirements and proposals impacting private entities in the financial sector. As the number and frequency of cyber attacks continue to grow, regulators have attempted to enhance cybersecurity protections via increased and more rigid incident reporting obligations, leading to a constantly shifting
Since the beginning of the year, the SEC has issued several sets of proposed rules governing cybersecurity. In an upcoming webinar, Ballard Privacy & Data Security partner Phil Yannella will join a panel discussion hosted by SEI Investments concerning the impact of these new rules on registered investment advisors and funds. You can register
California continues to be at the vanguard of privacy protection. On October 11, 2021 California’s Governor Newsom signed several bills addressing privacy and data security. These new laws go into effect January 1, 2022 and include:
On February 10, 2021, Phil Yannella, Chair of Ballard’s Privacy & Data Security Group, will join Ankura for a webinar, “2020 Cyber Year in Review”, which will recap cybersecurity events for 2020. Panel members will also offer their predictions for what cybersecurity issues will dominate headlines in 2021. You can register for the event here.