Last year Congress enacted the CLOUD Act (the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act) to clarify the means for foreign legal authorities to access electronic information held by U.S.-based global providers. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in April 2019, issued a White Paper entitled “Promoting Public Safety, Privacy, and the Rule of Law Around the World: The Purpose and Impact of the CLOUD Act.” This White Paper lays out the policy and legal reasons for enactment of the CLOUD Act, and explains how the CLOUD Act overlays and interacts with existing laws and established inter-governmental practices.
Category: Cybersecurity
The Trump Administration Signals Heightened Scrutiny of Chinese Investment in Companies with Access to Americans’ Personal Data
According to recent disclosures, the Trump Administration has been acting aggressively to control Chinese investment in companies that have access to Americans’ personal data. Last week, it was revealed that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has ordered Chinese company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd. to sell its majority stake in on-line dating app Grindr over concerns that Chinese access to personal data held by Grindr could pose a threat to U.S. national security. Then, on April 4, 2019, it was announced that CFIUS had also ordered Chinese investor and digital healthcare company iCarbonX to sell its stake in the U.S. company PatientsLikeMe. PatientsLikeMe is an on-line service that links individuals suffering the same health issues in an effort to improve disease detection and treatment. Again, the concern reportedly prompting the CFIUS action is Chinese access to the personal data of Americans and the national security risk that could pose.
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Zappos Data Breach Case
The Supreme Court recently declined to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Zappos.com, Inc. v. Stevens, a class action suit resulting from a 2012 data breach of the online retailer. As a result, there remains a split in the courts as to whether a breach of data confers Article III standing on potential plaintiffs, even if no actual injury occurred.
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Coming Soon to Singapore: Mandatory Data Breach Notifications
Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) issued a statement on March 1 announcing its plan to introduce mandatory breach notifications as part of a set of proposed amendments to the country’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). The proposed amendments come in response to the PDPC’s recent review of the PDPA in order “to ensure that it keeps pace with the evolving needs of businesses and individuals, and balances safeguarding individuals’ interests and enables the legitimate use of personal data by organisations.” The details of the mandatory breach notification have not yet been made public, but the amendment will likely require organizations to notify the PDPC and affected data subjects when a certain level of breach has occurred.
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N.Y. Attorney General Enforces Mobile App Security Initiative, Announces Settlements with Five Companies
In December 2018, the New York Attorney General’s Office announced settlements with five companies operating mobile apps, including Equifax and Western Union. The N.Y. Attorney General stated that the companies failed to keep sensitive information secure on their mobile apps and have agreed to implement improved security controls. The settlements came following a data privacy initiative by the Attorney General’s Office to proactively identify security vulnerabilities before consumer information is breached. As part of this effort, the Attorney General’s Office tested dozens of mobile apps that collect sensitive information.
HHS Task Group Releases Cybersecurity Guidelines for the Health Care Industry
Health care is one of the most complex and socially impactful areas of digitalization. Ensuring cybersecurity of health care operations, therefore, is of paramount importance – because potential vulnerabilities may lead not only to financial or technical exposures, but to lapses in life-or-death situations for patients.
To assist practitioners with education and guidelines, and in pursuance of Cybersecurity Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-113), Section 405(d), the Department of Health and Human Services created a “405(d) Task Group” in May 2017, involving, more than 150 health care and cybersecurity experts. The result of their collaborative work became a voluntary guideline entitled “Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients,” which was released at the end of 2018.
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