Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • January 09, 2025

    Vape Laptop Hacking Suit Belongs In Court, Co. Says

    A vape-maker has urged a California federal court to deny a bid by the founder of vape distributor Next Level to arbitrate the manufacturer's claims that he broke into a laptop to access its confidential information, saying he's not a signatory to an underlying arbitration agreement.

  • January 09, 2025

    CFPB Taps First Open Banking Industry Standards Setter

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has given Financial Data Exchange Inc. the green light to set standards for open banking in a first of its kind approval aimed at giving customers more control over their financial data.

  • January 09, 2025

    SPEX's Data Security Patent Award Boosted To $553M

    A California federal judge has tacked on about $237 million in interest to the $316 million damages verdict SPEX Technologies won after a jury found Western Digital infringed a patent related to hardware encryption technology.

  • January 09, 2025

    Highgate Hotels Hit With Suit Over Months-Long Data Breach

    A former employee seeking to represent a class claimed in New York federal court that real estate and hospitality management company Highgate Hotels failed to use basic cyberattack prevention tools, allowing hackers to access employee records for months.

  • January 09, 2025

    VITAS Must Face Wiretap Suit Over Customer Service Calls

    A California federal judge declined to toss a putative class action alleging VITAS Healthcare violated wiretapping laws by helping a third-party software developer eavesdrop on calls with VITAS' customers, noting Wednesday the third party was capable of using the data derived from the calls for its own purposes.

  • January 09, 2025

    5 Questions Attys Have About Supreme Court's TikTok Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday in TikTok's challenge to a law requiring the wildly popular social media platform to be divested from its Chinese parent company over national security concerns or face a nationwide ban, in an unusual First Amendment case attorneys say also raises broad procedural and legal questions.

  • January 09, 2025

    DOJ Fights Apple's Intervention In Google Search Remedies

    The U.S. Department of Justice is opposing Apple Inc.'s "eleventh-hour effort" to have a say in what should be a proper fix for Google's search monopoly, telling a D.C. federal judge that the company has had ample opportunity to defend its lucrative revenue-sharing agreement with Google.

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Frees Google Of Incognito Mode Suit

    A Texas appeals court wiped Texas' deceptive trade practices suit alleging Google misleads consumers about the privacy available through its "Incognito" mode, finding in a Thursday opinion the lower court doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the case.

  • January 09, 2025

    MoFo Opens Fourth European Office In Amsterdam

    Morrison Foerster LLP has opened an office in Amsterdam to grow its privacy and data security practice, the firm announced Thursday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Consumers Get Class Cert. In Suit Over Law Firm's Robocalls

    A West Virginia federal judge has granted class status to consumers who are accusing a plaintiffs' firm of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by blasting them with unsolicited calls seeking their participation in litigation against the federal government over contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

  • January 08, 2025

    Meta, Microsoft, Google Seek To Toss DNA Data-Sharing Suit

    DNA-testing platform Nebula Genomics, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Google urged a Chicago federal judge to toss a putative class action accusing the companies of surreptitiously misusing customers' genetic data through tracking software on Nebula's website, arguing that the complaint lacks specifics tying the defendants to alleged wrongdoing.

  • January 08, 2025

    FCC Hikes Fines For Failing To Comply With Robocall Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission unveiled rules Wednesday to increase the penalties that telecommunication companies could face if they don't comply with their obligation to send information to a central database that tracks anti-robocall compliance.

  • January 08, 2025

    PowerPlan To Pay $24M, Ending Rival's Monopoly Claims

    Roper Technologies subsidiary PowerPlan Inc. has agreed to pay $24 million in a settlement with a rival firm formed by former employees who said the utility software giant tried to lock them out of the market by threatening litigation against them and prospective clients.

  • January 08, 2025

    Epic Gets Backing For Google App Store Changes

    Epic Games has received support from federal antitrust enforcers, Microsoft and others at the Ninth Circuit as the game developer fights Google's bid to appeal an order forcing the tech giant to loosen its policies surrounding the distribution of apps on Android devices.

  • January 08, 2025

    Rivers Casino Hit With Pa. Suit Over Data Breach

    The owner of Rivers Casino in Philadelphia has been accused of not doing enough to safeguard customers' personal information, which was exposed during a data breach incident last year, according to a new class action filed Wednesday in federal court.

  • January 08, 2025

    CFPB Hit With Industry Suit Over Medical Debt Reporting Rule

    A top trade group for the credit reporting industry has moved to challenge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule that would take billions of dollars in medical debt off credit reports, accusing the agency of overreach in a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.

  • January 08, 2025

    H&R Block To Pay $7M Fine In False Ad Settlement With FTC

    Tax preparation giant H&R Block will pay a $7 million fine to help customers harmed by what the Federal Trade Commission called its deceptive advertising practices and make it easier for customers to downgrade to cheaper products under a settlement with the agency announced Wednesday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Google Still Has To Face Users' Mobile App Privacy Suit

    Google is facing the prospect of another trial, this time over allegations it secretly tracked millions of Google app users' browsing and ad interactions, after a California federal judge rejected the tech giant's bid for summary judgment.

  • January 08, 2025

    Ariz. Tribe Sues Social Media Giants Over Youth Mental Health

    An Apache tribe has hit all the social media giants with a suit in California federal court claiming the companies' platforms are designed to addict young people but have a particularly bad effect on Native American youth, who already face a high risk of depression, addiction and suicide.

  • January 08, 2025

    Mortgage Cos. Fined $20M Over Cybersecurity Breach

    Bayview Asset Management LLC and three affiliates on Wednesday agreed to pay a $20 million fine and improve their cybersecurity programs to settle allegations from 53 state financial regulators that the mortgage companies had deficient cybersecurity practices and didn't fully cooperate with regulators after a 2021 data breach.

  • January 08, 2025

    EU Commission To Pay €400 For Sending IP Address To Meta

    A European Union court ordered the bloc's commission on Wednesday to pay a German citizen €400 ($412) in compensation for operating a website that disclosed his IP address to Meta in breach of its own data regulations — a first for the executive branch.

  • January 07, 2025

    HHS Fines Mass. Health Firm $80K Over Ransomware Attack

    Elgon Information Systems, which provides digital medical record and billing support services, will pay $80,000 over alleged healthcare data protection rule violations following a ransomware attack on its systems in March 2023 that impacted roughly 31,248 customers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

  • January 07, 2025

    'Cyber Trust Mark' To Soon Adorn Smart Devices, Gov't Says

    The makers of internet-connected devices such as home security cameras and voice-activated assistants will soon be able to obtain a label to certify that their products meet certain cybersecurity standards, under a new program officially launched by the Biden administration Tuesday. 

  • January 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Ore. Ban On Secret Audio Recordings

    A split en banc Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday upheld as constitutional an Oregon law prohibiting secret audio recordings of people's conversations, ruling in a published opinion that the statute was narrowly tailored to Oregon's significant interest in ensuring its residents know when their conversations are recorded, even in public.

  • January 07, 2025

    Hacked LA Law Firm Hill Farrer Beats Suit Over Cyberattack

    A Los Angeles judge Tuesday tossed a proposed class action against Hill Farrer & Burrill LLP alleging it failed to stop a preventable cyberattack carried out by hackers and said he would not allow for the complaint to be amended because the case law cited by the lead plaintiff is deficient.

Expert Analysis

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 9 Considerations Around Proposed Connected Vehicle Ban

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    Stakeholders should consider several aspects of the U.S. Department of Commerce's recent proposal to ban U.S. imports and sales of vehicles incorporating certain connectivity components made in China or Russia, including exempted transactions and vehicle hardware imports, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.

  • Putting NYDFS AI Cybersecurity Guidance Into Practice

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    New guidance from the New York Department of Financial Services explains how financial institutions should assess and mitigate cybersecurity risks associated with artificial intelligence, focusing on four main threats and highlighting how varying environments require specific mitigation measures, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • How Property Insurance Coverage Shrank After The Pandemic

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    Insurers litigating property claims are leveraging rulings that provided relief in the COVID-19 context to reverse the former majority rule on physical loss or damage in all contexts, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • What FTC's 'Bitcoin ATM' Report Tells Us About Crypto Scams

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent insights into bitcoin ATM scams highlight the technical evolution of fraudsters, the application of old scams to new technology, and the persistent financial impact on victims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • 6 Steps To Ready Defense Contractors For Cybersecurity Rule

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    Following the U.S. Department of Defense's final rule establishing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program in federal regulations, Sandeep Kathuria at Ice Miller provides a refresher on CMMC and identifies best practices for defense contractors awaiting full implementation of CMMC.

  • Takeaways From The IRS' Crypto Doc Summons Win

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    A recent First Circuit decision holding that taxpayers do not have a Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in cryptocurrency transaction records should prompt both taxpayers and exchanges to take stock of past transactions and future plans, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • A Novel Expansion Of Alien Tort Statute In 9th Circ.

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    The Ninth Circuit's Doe v. Cisco rehearing denial allows a new invocation of the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, which could capture the U.S. Supreme Court's attention, and has potentially dramatic consequences for U.S. companies doing business with foreign governments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

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