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The Lower Saxony Data Protection Authority (Lower Saxony DPA) has audited 50 large and medium-sized organizations over the last couple of months regarding their implementation of the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and is currently finalising the audits. On 7 August 2019, the Lower Saxony DPA released the…

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent $5 billion settlement with Facebook is unprecedented in multiple respects:

  • The $5 billion penalty represents the largest privacy and data security settlement in history – it is almost 20 times larger than the recent Equifax Inc. settlement and dwarfs recent EU data protection enforcement actions.
  • As part of the settlement, new corporate governance measures relating to privacy and data security will be required, including an independent committee of the board of directors, with specific nomination requirements and subject matter coverage. This will place pressure on many boards and organizations to freshly examine information governance risk.
  • The settlement also requires executive certifications, which, if modeled by other companies, will trigger dramatic changes in accountability as executives turn to rely on experts, internal compliance teams, audit and related expertise for assurance and attestation in order to avoid civil and criminal penalties and derivative litigation.

The signaling effect of the settlement to the broader business community intended by the primary privacy regulator in the United States cannot be overstated. Similar enforcement actions, such as individual prosecutions in Europe under the EU Data Protection Directive, triggered immediate response and attention from corporations just as the emergence of breach notification laws resulted in massive new investments in information security programs in the United States.Continue Reading $5 billion Federal Trade Commission settlement with Facebook represents largest privacy enforcement penalty ever

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently announced settlement with background check provider SecurTest, Inc. shows the agency remains vigilant regarding businesses’ claims that they comply with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework (Privacy Shield). Privacy Shield provides U.S. businesses with a legally recognized mechanism for receiving personal data in the United States from the EU. In its complaint against SecurTest, the FTC alleges that for several months SecurTest falsely claimed on its website that it complied with Privacy Shield when in fact it had not self-certified its Privacy Shield compliance with the U.S. Department of Commerce. The terms of the FTC’s decision and order prohibit SecurTest from misrepresenting its Privacy Shield compliance status and require it to submit to compliance monitoring and recordkeeping requirements.

Along with announcing its settlement with SecurTest, the FTC noted that, rather than beginning enforcement proceedings, it has issued a number of warning letters to businesses over similar alleged inaccurate statements about compliance with cross-border privacy and data security transfer programs like Privacy Shield:Continue Reading FTC settlement and warning letters over cross-border personal data transfers

As of today, Covered Entities are expected to be compliant with additional provisions under the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) cybersecurity regulation. A “Covered Entity” is any individual or non-governmental entity “operating under or required to operate under a license, registration, charter, certificate, permit, accreditation or similar authorization under the Banking Law, the Insurance Law or the Financial Services Law.” 23 NYCRR 500.01. The cybersecurity regulation became effective March 1, 2017, and Covered Entities had 180 days to become compliant, unless otherwise specified.

A year later, on March 1, 2018, Covered Entities were expected to be in compliance with requirements related to annual reporting by the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) on the cybersecurity program and material cybersecurity risks, continuous monitoring or periodic penetration testing and vulnerability assessments, periodic risk assessments, multi-factor or risk-based authentication, and regular cybersecurity awareness training for all personnel.
Continue Reading September 4, 2018: NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation Compliance date arrives

We are hosting a webinar on January 30, 2017, to discuss the new obligations global organisations with interests in Europe will need to meet to comply with the GDPR. With just over 16 months to go until the Regulation will be enforced, it is vital that you understand the requirements and that you are able…

In February, the UK Information Commission’s Office (ICO) issued an updated code of practice on conducting Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA), with a six-point process for organisations to follow (the Code).

A PIA is intended to focus the attention of an organisation on the way that data is held and used in any project, and reduce…

This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue.

Last month, Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (OPCP) released a Best Practice Guide on Privacy Management Programmes (PMP) (the Guide). Striking a similar chord to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office in the recently released code of practice on conducting Privacy Impact Assessments…

This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue.

A nonprofit research organisation, the Indian Centre for Internet and Society (ICIS), has issued an open call for comments on its draft Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013 (the Bill). Consultations on the Bill started in April 2013, with a series of seven roundtable talks being held in partnership…

This post was also written by John E. Wyand.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation of Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C. (APDerm) after a report was made regarding the theft of an unencrypted flash drive. To settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability…