On June 30, 2025, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3), and the National Security Agency (NSA) warned U.S. critical infrastructure organizations and other companies that the threat of cyber attacks from Iran-affiliated cyber actors is heightened
Continue Reading U.S. Government Issues Cybersecurity Warning to Critical Infrastructure Operators and Others
Caleb Skeath
Caleb Skeath helps companies manage their most complex and highâstakes cybersecurity and data security challenges, combining deep regulatory insight, technical fluency, and practical judgment informed by leading incident response matters.
Caleb Skeath advises inâhouse legal and security teams on the full lifecycle of cybersecurity and privacy risk—from governance and preparedness through incident response, regulatory engagement, and followâon litigation. A Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), he is trusted by clients across highly regulated and technologyâdriven sectors to provide clear, practical guidance at moments when legal judgment, technical understanding, and business realities must be aligned.
Caleb has deep experience leading and overseeing responses to complex cybersecurity incidents, including ransomware, data theft and extortion, business email compromise, advanced persistent threats and state-sponsored threat actors, insider threats, and inadvertent data loss. He regularly helps inâhouse counsel structure and manage investigations under attorneyâclient privilege; coordinate with internal IT, information security, and executive stakeholders; and engage with forensic firms, crisis communications providers, insurers, and law enforcement. A central focus of his practice is advising on notification obligations and strategy, including the application of U.S. federal and state data breach notification laws and requirements along with contractual notification obligations, and helping companies make defensible, riskâinformed decisions about timing, scope, and messaging.
In addition to his work responding to cybersecurity incidents, Caleb works closely with clients’ legal, technical, and compliance teams on cybersecurity governance, regulatory compliance, and preâincident planning. He has extensive experience drafting and reviewing cybersecurity policies, incident response plans, and vendor contract provisions; supervising cybersecurity assessments under privilege; and advising on training and tabletop exercises designed to prepare organizations for realâworld incidents. His work frequently involves translating evolving regulatory expectations into actionable guidance for inâhouse counsel, including in highly-regulated sectors such as the financial sector (including compliance with NYDFS cybersecurity regulations, the Computer Security Incident Notification Rule, and GLBA guidelines and guidance) and the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector (including compliance with GxP standards, FDA medical device guidance, and HIPAA).
Caleb’s practice also addresses evolving and emerging areas of cybersecurity and data security law, including advising clients on compliance with the Department of Justice’s Data Security Program, CISAârelated security requirements for restricted transactions, and preparation for new regulatory regimes such as the CCPA cybersecurity audit requirements and federal incident reporting obligations. He regularly counsels clients on how artificial intelligence and connected devices intersect with cybersecurity, privacy, and consumer protection risk, and how to support innovation while managing regulatory exposure.
Caleb also has extensive experience helping clients navigate high-stakes cybersecurity-related inquiries from the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General, and other sector-specific regulators, including incident-specific inquiries as well as broader inquiries related to an entity’s cybersecurity practices and the security of product or service offerings. For companies that have entered into cybersecurity-related settlement agreements with regulators, Caleb has helped guide them through compliance with settlement agreement obligations, including navigating required third-party assessments and strategically responding to cybersecurity incidents that can arise while a company is subject to a settlement agreement. Caleb also routinely works hand-in-hand with colleagues in Covington’s class action litigation, commercial litigation, and insurance recovery practices to prepare for and successfully navigate incident-related disputes that can devolve into litigation.
New York State Department of Financial Services Issues Guidance on Cybersecurity, Sanctions, and Virtual Currency Following Escalation of Iran Conflict
On June 23, 2025, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NY DFS”) issued guidance to NY DFS-regulated individuals and entities regarding the impact of “ongoing global conflicts” to the financial sector. The guidance follows a bulletin from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about the “heightened threat environment” in the United States, which specifically references cyber attacks. The NY DFS guidance highlights three key areas of focus: cybersecurity, sanctions, and virtual currency, and may be helpful for organizations across industries globally:
Continue Reading New York State Department of Financial Services Issues Guidance on Cybersecurity, Sanctions, and Virtual Currency Following Escalation of Iran ConflictWhite House Issues New Cybersecurity Executive Order
On June 6, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation’s Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144”) (the “Order”) that modifies certain initiatives in prior Executive Orders issued by Presidents Obama and Biden and highlights key cybersecurity priorities for the current Administration. Specifically, the Order (i) directs that existing federal government regulations and policy be revised to focus on securing third-party software supply chains, quantum cryptography, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices and (ii) more expressly focuses cybersecurity-related sanctions authorities on “foreign” persons. Although the Order makes certain changes to prior cybersecurity related Executive Orders issued under previous administrations, it generally leaves the framework of those Executive Orders in place. Further, it does not appear to modify other cybersecurity Executive Orders.[1] To that end, although the Order highlights some areas where the Trump administration has taken a different approach than prior administrations, it also signals a more general alignment between administrations on core cybersecurity principles.
Continue Reading White House Issues New Cybersecurity Executive OrderCISA Releases AI Data Security Guidance
On May 22, 2025, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), which sits within the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) released guidance for AI system operators regarding managing data security risks. The associated press release explains that the guidance provides “best practices for system operators to mitigate cyber risks through the artificial intelligence lifecycle, including consideration on securing the data supply chain and protecting data against unauthorized modification by threat actors.” CISA published the guidance in conjunction with the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and cyber agencies from Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. This guidance is intended for organizations using AI systems in their operations, including Defense Industrial Bases, National Security Systems owners, federal agencies, and Critical Infrastructure owners and operators. This guidance builds on the Joint Guidance on Deploying AI Systems Security released by CISA and several other U.S. and foreign agencies in April 2024.
Continue Reading CISA Releases AI Data Security GuidanceNIST Publishes Updated Incident Response Recommendations and Considerations
Earlier in April, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) published Special Publication (“SP”) 800-61, Incident Response Recommendations and Considerations for Cybersecurity Risk Management, Revision 3 (“NIST SP 800-61”). NIST SP 800-61 Revision 3 (“Revision 3”) is a significant change, as it not only represents the first update of the document since 2012, but also now maps the document’s recommendations and considerations for incident response to the six functions outlined in the recently-updated NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0—Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. As a result, Revision 3 includes significant new recommendations and guidance for incident response, and entities should consider reviewing and updating their incident response plans and procedures to incorporate these recommendations, particularly if an entity has aligned its cybersecurity program with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework or used the prior versions of NIST SP 800-61 as a basis for existing incident response plans or procedures.
Continue Reading NIST Publishes Updated Incident Response Recommendations and ConsiderationsNew York Adopts Amendment to the State Data Breach Notification Law
On December 24, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to New York General Business Law § 899-aa modifying the state’s data breach notification requirements. The amended law, which is effective immediately, imposes new requirements businesses must follow when providing notifications following a data breach affecting New York residents. Specifically, businesses now must disclose data breaches affecting New York residents within thirty days from the discovery of a breach. Additionally, the amendment adds the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) to the list of state regulators that must be notified whenever a breach requiring notification to New York residents occurs.
Continue Reading New York Adopts Amendment to the State Data Breach Notification LawCISA and FBI Publish Product Security Bad Practices
On October 16, 2024, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) published guidance on Product Security Bad Practices (the “Guidance”) that identifies “exceptionally risky” product security practices for software manufacturers. The Guidance states that the ten identified practices—categorized as (1) Product Properties, (2) Security Features, or (3) Organizational Processes and Policies—are “dangerous and significantly elevate[] risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety.”
The Guidance offers recommendations to remediate each of the identified practices and states that adoption of the recommendations indicates software manufacturers “are taking ownership of customer security outcomes.” Provided below are the ten practices and associated recommendations.
Continue Reading CISA and FBI Publish Product Security Bad PracticesNYDFS Issues Industry Guidance on Risks Arising from Artificial Intelligence
On October 16, 2024, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) issued an industry letter (the “Guidance”) highlighting the cybersecurity risks arising from the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and providing strategies to address these risks. While the Guidance “does not impose any new requirements,” it clarifies how Covered Entities should address AI-related risks as part of NYDFS’s landmark cybersecurity regulation, codified at 23 NYCRR Part 500 (“Cybersecurity Regulation”). The Cybersecurity Regulation, as revised in November 2023, requires Covered Entities to implement certain detailed cybersecurity controls, including governance and board oversight requirements. Covered Entities subject to the Cybersecurity Regulation should pay close attention to the new Guidance not only if they are using or planning on using AI, but also if they could be subject to any of the AI-related risks or attacks described below.
Continue Reading NYDFS Issues Industry Guidance on Risks Arising from Artificial IntelligenceCISA and FBI Publish a Secure by Design Alert to Eliminate Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities
On September 17, 2024, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) published a Secure by Design Alert, cautioning senior executives and business leaders to be aware of and work to eliminate cross-site scripting (“XSS”) vulnerabilities in their products (the “Alert”). XSS vulnerabilities allow “threat actors to inject malicious scripts into web applications, exploiting them to manipulate, steal, or misuse data across different contexts.”
Continue Reading CISA and FBI Publish a Secure by Design Alert to Eliminate Cross-Site Scripting VulnerabilitiesCISA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Incident Reporting
On March 27, 2024, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (“CISA”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”) related to the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (“CIRCIA”) was released on the Federal Register website. The Proposed Rule, which will be formally published in the Federal Register on April 4, 2024, proposes draft regulations to implement the incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities from CIRCIA, which President Biden signed into law in March 2022. CIRCIA established two cyber incident reporting requirements for covered critical infrastructure entities: a 24-hour requirement to report ransomware payments and a 72-hour requirement to report covered cyber incidents to CISA. While the overarching requirements and structure of the reporting process were established under the law, CIRCIA also directed CISA to issue the Proposed Rule within 24 months of the law’s enactment to provide further detail on the scope and implementation of these requirements. Under CIRCIA, the final rule must be published by September 2025.
The Proposed Rule addresses various elements of CIRCIA, which will be covered in a forthcoming Client Alert. This blog post focuses primarily on the proposed definitions of two pivotal terms that were left to further rulemaking under CIRCIA (Covered Entity and Covered Cyber Incident), which illustrate the broad scope of CIRCIA’s reporting requirements, as well as certain proposed exceptions to the reporting requirements. The Proposed Rule will be subject to a review and comment period for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Continue Reading CISA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Incident Reporting