Cybersecurity

On August 1, 2017, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation (fact sheet) that would establish minimum cybersecurity standards for Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices sold to the U.S. Government.  As Internet-connected devices become increasingly ubiquitous and susceptible to evolving and complex cyber threats, the proposed bill attempts…
Continue Reading A Summary of the Recently Introduced “Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017”

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released a voluntary framework for organizations to use in the development of a formal program to receive reports of network, software, and system vulnerabilities, and to disclose vulnerabilities identified in other organizations’ environments.  This framework provides private entities a series of steps…
Continue Reading Department of Justice Releases Guidance for Vulnerability Disclosure Programs

As our readers know, New York’s Department of Financial Services (“NY DFS”) released a draft of its new Cybersecurity Regulations on September 13, 2016, and the final version of the regulations went into effect on March 1, 2017 (23 NYCRR 500).  Among other things, the regulations require regulated entities to conduct cyber risk assessments and to develop and implement cybersecurity programs to manage their cyber risk.

Notwithstanding the fanfare surrounding the announcement of these “first-in-the-nation” regulations, there has been significant uncertainty about precisely how the regulations will be interpreted and enforced.  That uncertainty has been increasing with the approach of the August 28 deadline for compliance with the first round of requirements (Section 500.22(a)).

On June 29, 2017, NY DFS took steps to reduce that uncertainty by posting a “Frequently Asked Questions” section about the regulations on its website.  The FAQs seek to clarify some key provisions of these regulations, including provisions regarding reporting requirements and consumer notification triggers.  Some highlights below:
Continue Reading New York DFS Publishes FAQs on New Cybersecurity Regulations

The increasing connectivity of vehicles has raised questions about how to maintain the security of connected vehicles.  In response, the Cloud Security Alliance released on May 25, 2017 a 35-page research and guidance report on Observations and Recommendations on Connected Vehicle Security.  The Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting a secure cloud computing environment and whose members include individuals and technology leaders such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, HP, Adobe, and Symantec.  The comprehensive report includes a background on connected vehicle security design, highlights potential attack vectors, and provides recommendations for addressing security gaps.

The report discusses the multitude of ways that our vehicles are connected to the Internet, including through diagnostic tools, infotainment systems (such as satellite radio, traffic services, etc.), and remote entry and startup.  Vehicles also communicate with other vehicles, with infrastructure and with applications, providing information such as vehicle position, speed, acceleration, and braking status.  And, as the development of driverless cars continues, those vehicles will need to rely on communications with traffic lights, other vehicles, and pedestrians to maintain the safety of our roadways.  Vehicles have also begun to be integrated into other IoT devices, such as Amazon Echo and NEST, which allow consumers to use those applications to remotely start, set environmental controls for, or track the location of vehicles.

As a result of this interconnectedness, the security risk to connected vehicles and the ecosystems that support them is great.  In controlled situations, hackers were able to turn off the transmission of a Jeep Cherokee and reduce the speed of a Tesla Model S.  Hackers could hijack a vehicle’s safety-critical operations, track a vehicle (and its occupants), or disable a vehicle, despite actions taken by the driver.  The Cloud Security Alliance’s report provides a chart of approximately twenty possible attacks against connected vehicles.
Continue Reading Cloud Security Alliance Releases Guidance for Securing Connected Vehicles

On May 11, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure” (the “Order”).  The long-anticipated directive was issued months after the White House originally planned to release a cybersecurity order in February.  Since then, revised drafts of the order were circulated, including a version from February 10, 2017 (the “Revised Draft”) that differed significantly from the initial draft order, but aligned with Executive Order 13636, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Security,” which was signed by President Obama on February 12, 2013.  With few exceptions, the Order signed yesterday mirrors the Revised Draft that we previously analyzed in our February 17, 2017 blog post titled “Release of Cybersecurity EO May Have Notable Impact in Communications, Energy, and Defense Industrial Base Critical Infrastructure Sectors.”  Here, we highlight key differences between the Revised Draft and the final Order.

Section 1:  Cybersecurity of Federal Networks

The first section of the Order continues to primarily address cybersecurity risk management and IT modernization within the executive branch consistent with the Revised Draft and Executive Order 13636 signed by President Obama.  The Order incorporates nearly all of the Revised Draft’s language in this section, with minor exceptions.
Continue Reading White House Issues New Cybersecurity EO

Among the many issues that can give rise to the initial uncertainty of responding to a significant cybersecurity incident is a failure by incident response team members to understand the perspectives and priorities of other stakeholders. But this complicating factor can readily be mitigated through cross-functional education and relationship building before an incident occurs.

In the first part of a two-part article in Cybersecurity Law Report (subscription required), Steve Surdu and Jennifer Martin, members of Covington’s cybersecurity practice with extensive experience responding to cyber incidents, explain the differences in how forensic analysts and lawyers approach incident response, and how those differences, if understood, can complement one another rather than lead to tension. 
Continue Reading Working Effectively with Forensic Firms

Today, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) released the final version of the Measures on the Security Review of Network Products and Services (Trial) (“the Measures”), with an effective date of June 1, 2017 (official Chinese version available here).  The issuance of the Measures marks a critical first step toward implementing China’s Cybersecurity Law (“the Law”), which was promulgated on November 7, 2016 and will take effect on June 1, 2017 (the same date as the Measures).

More specifically, the long-anticipated Measures offer guidance on how CAC is planning to conduct cybersecurity reviews of network products and services procured by entities in a range of key sectors and other operators of Critical Information Infrastructure (“CII”), if the procurement “may affect China’s national security.”

A draft form of the Measures was released in February 2017 for public comment (see Covington’s alert on the draft Measures here).  Since then, international stakeholders have been submitting comments to the CAC and changes in the final version reflect some of these comments.  The Measures, however, still lack clarity with respect to certain aspects of the review process, both in terms of substantive criteria and procedure.  Companies that may be subject to such reviews will likely need further guidance from the agencies once the Measures take effect.

This post identifies two key changes in the final version.
Continue Reading China Releases Final Regulation on Cybersecurity Review of Network Products and Services

On April 11, 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) released a draft of the Measures on Security Assessment of Cross-border Data Transfer of Personal Information and Important Data (“the Draft Measures”) for public comment (official Chinese version available here).  The comment period ends on May 11, 2017.

The issuance of the long-anticipated Draft Measures is another critical step toward implementing China’s Cybersecurity Law (“the Law”), which is set to take effect on June 1, 2017 (see our alert on the Law here).  Importantly, the Draft Measures, if enacted in its current form, would mandate all “network operators” to self-assess the security of their cross-border data transfers and significantly broaden the scope of entities that potentially need to undergo security assessments for such transfers by the Chinese government.  Companies that fall into the scope of “network operators,” but may not qualify for “operators of Critical Information Infrastructure” (“CII”), could see their cross-border data transfers regulated under the Draft Measures.  
Continue Reading China Seeks Public Comments on Draft Regulation on Cross-Border Data Transfer

Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced a pair of bills today relating to the cybersecurity of cars and aircraft, which would impose affirmative security, disclosure, and consent requirements on manufacturers and air carriers.  The Security and Privacy in Your Car (“SPY Car”) Act and Cybersecurity Standards for Aircraft to Improve Resilience (“Cyber AIR”) Act were each introduced but not enacted in a previous session of Congress.  In a joint press release, the Senators noted that the legislation was designed to “implement and improve cybersecurity standards for cars and aircraft.”

The SPY Car Act

The SPY Car Act would require cars manufactured for sale in the U.S. to comply with “reasonable measures to protect against hacking attacks,” including measures to isolate critical software systems from non-critical systems, evaluate security vulnerabilities, and “immediately detect, report, and stop attempts to intercept driving data or control the vehicle.”  It would also require “driving data” collected by cars to be “reasonably secured to prevent unauthorized access,” including while such data is in transit to other locations or subsequently stored elsewhere.  Violations of these cybersecurity requirements are subject to civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.
Continue Reading Senators Reintroduce Cybersecurity Legislation for Cars and Planes

On March 2nd, Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced three pieces of legislation that would expand the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) authority over the cybersecurity practices of communications network providers.

The first bill, the “Securing IoT Act of 2017” (introduced by Rep. Jerry McNerney…
Continue Reading House Democrats Propose Three Bills that Would Bolster FCC Influence over Cybersecurity