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    Oct. 30, 2024

What to Know (and Do) About DOJ’s Efforts to Identify and Prosecute Cybersecurity Fraud Under the False Claims Act

The DOJ has its sights set on cybersecurity fraud and is pursuing alleged offenders in unprecedented ways. In addition to its efforts pursuant to the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, established in 2021, in August 2024, the DOJ joined and took over a fraud case brought by a whistleblower – the first time the United States has taken the lead role in prosecuting a cybersecurity fraud case. In this guest article, Joseph Greenwald and Laake partner Veronica Nannis summarizes the DOJ’s efforts since 2021 and discusses what all cybersecurity contractors should do both to maintain compliance and avoid costly cyber-fraud investigations. See “Revised DOJ Guidance Clarifies Liability Protections for Good-Faith Security Research” (Jun. 8, 2022).

Seventh Circuit Refuses to Compel Mass BIPA Arbitration Against Samsung: Legal Analysis Breakdown

Mass arbitration has become a potent weapon in consumer privacy litigation. In one recent case involving claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), Samsung turned the tables on the claimants, who likely were counting on leveraging the applicable American Arbitration Association (AAA) filing fee, by refusing to pay the fee, prompting the AAA to terminate the arbitration. The case ended up before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Court), which found that claimants had not established the existence of a binding arbitration agreement, and, even if they had, the arbitration had already been completed in accordance with AAA rules. This article, the first of our two-part coverage of the case, examines the Court’s analysis and discusses relevant procedural background. In the second article, David Oberly, counsel and biometrics team lead at Baker Donelson, will address the key takeaways and practical implications of the decision, provide strategies for strengthening arbitration agreements and discuss the future trajectory of mass arbitration tactics in BIPA class action litigation. See “Aftermath of the Ninth Circuit BIPA Liability Shake‑Up in Zellmer v. Meta” (Oct. 23, 2024).

Emerging Issues in Workplace Privacy: Regulations and Compliance Strategies

As employers increasingly turn to automated tools to monitor and collect information on employees to increase efficiency, assess safety issues, streamline candidate screening and assess performance, federal and state regulators are examining privacy issues unique to such practices. Companies should understand the types of surveillance tools available to them as well as the risks and benefits of their use. Counsel from the California Privacy Protection Agency, Sidley Austin and Center for Democracy & Technology delved into workplace monitoring trends and issues at IAPP’s Privacy.Security.Risk. 2024 conference. This second article in a two-part series distilling their insights examines the legal and regulatory landscape applicable to employee privacy and offers compliance considerations. Part one discussed the types of employee data companies are collecting and how and why they collect it, as well as employees’ concerns and how to navigate them. See “Checklist for Addressing Employee Data Rights Requests” (Jul. 26, 2023).

Shook Adds Privacy & Cybersecurity Partner in Chicago

Shook Hardy & Bacon has welcomed Jad Sheikali to its privacy & cybersecurity team as a partner in Chicago. He arrives from Honigman. For insights from Shook, see “Ten Cybersecurity Resolutions for 2024” (Jan. 10, 2024); and “Shaping the BIPA Landscape: Avoiding Liability” (Sep. 14, 2022).

Former Senior U.S. Department of State and White House Official Joins Jenner & Block in D.C.

Ian Moss has joined Jenner & Block’s investigations, compliance and defense practice as special counsel in Washington, D.C. He most recently served as Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State. For insights from Jenner, see our two-part series on the SolarWinds Decision: “Court Narrows Case, but SEC’s Surviving Claims Alarm CISOs” (Aug. 7, 2024), and “Practical Takeaways for Cyber Communications” (Aug. 14, 2024); as well as “Companies May Need to Revisit Access Policies and Agreements Post‑Van Buren” (Jun. 16, 2021).

Most-Read Articles

Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, women editors and reporters of ION Analytics interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this part, Jill Abitbol, Managing Editor of the Cybersecurity Law Report and Anti-Corruption Report, features notable women in data privacy, cybersecurity, white collar defense, compliance and anti-corruption law, including Christina Montgomery, Leslie Shanklin, Palmina Fava, Alexandra Ross and Lucinda Low. Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.

We Celebrate Data Privacy Day 2024

Read the full brief here.

Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

In honor of International Women’s Day, some of ION Analytics' editorial teams led by women interviewed notable women in the markets and industries we cover. In this part, the Cybersecurity Law Report highlighted notable women in compliance and hedge fund, data privacy and cybersecurity, and anti-corruption law, including Amii Barnard-Bahn, Abigail Bell, Genna Garver, Jane Horvath, Barbara Li, Amy Mushahwar, Mara Senn and Carol Widger. The interviews are here.

 

 

 

Webinar on Compliant International Data Transfers

Listen here to our discussion with our colleagues at Ethos Privacy, which took place on March 1, 2022, on how to approach international data transfer challenges. 

Webinar on Getting a Handle on Vendor Contracts

A recording of the March 10 webinar can be accessed here. 

Cybersecurity Resolutions for 2021

In this quick take video, we talk about some of our cybersecurity resolutions for 2021.

Facial Recognition Concerns

In this short video, we discuss the privacy and bias concerns with facial recognition technology.

Planning for the Return to Work 

We discuss a few return-to-work privacy issues in this short video.

ACR and CSLR Spring Update 2020

The Senior Editors of the Anti-Corruption Report and the Cybersecurity Law Report recently teamed up to present an update on the trends and hot topics in the anti-corruption, cybersecurity and data privacy spaces since the beginning of the year and what the publications will be focusing on in the coming months. A complimentary download of the webinar is available here.

Upcoming Webinar: Companywide Work From Home - Cybersecurity and Privacy Best Practices

Please join us on Monday, March 23, 2020, from 12:00 p.m.- 12:30 p.m. EDT for a complimentary webinar discussing the cybersecurity and privacy challenges the shift to remote working has created and how to overcome them. Registration information for the webinar is here. 

Upcoming Webinar to Explore Best Practices for Alternative Data Use

Please join us on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a complimentary webinar hosted by our sister publication, the Hedge Fund Law Report, discussing issues relating to the use of alternative data by private fund managers. To register for the webinar, click here.

Upcoming HFLR/CSLR Webinar to Explore Strategies and Tactics for Conducting an Effective Tabletop Exercise

Please join the Hedge Fund Law Report and the Cybersecurity Law Report on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. ET for a complimentary webinar discussing the strategies and tactics companies can employ to conduct an effective tabletop exercise. GCs and CCOs are encouraged to invite their CISOs and CTOs to join as well. The webinar will be moderated by Shaw Horton, Associate Editor of the Hedge Fund Law Report, and will feature Luke Dembosky, partner at Debevoise, John “Four” Flynn, chief information security officer at Uber, and Jill Abitbol, Senior Editor of the Cybersecurity Law Report. Registration for the webinar is available here.

Anti-Corruption Webinar: How HPE Is Using Its New T&E Tool to Generate Compliance Metrics

Measuring the effectiveness of a compliance program can be tricky, but some companies are finding ways to use their existing internal controls to generate useful data. Join our sister publication the Anti-Corruption Report (ACR) for a complimentary webinar that explores Hewlett Packard Enterprises’ new travel-and-entertainment-approval tool. On Wednesday, March 27, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT, the ACR’s Megan Zwiebel will interview Becky Rohr, vice-president of anti-corruption and global trade at Hewlett Packard Enterprises, about how they are using their T&E tool to measure and improve compliance. Registration information is here.