Earlier today, our colleagues David Engvall, Keir Gumbs, Reid Hooper, and Matthew Wood in the Securities and Capital Markets practice group posted the below article on the SEC’s new statement and interpretive guidance on public company cybersecurity disclosures and insider trading on the Cov Financial Services blog. The original article can be read here. On … Continue Reading
On January 9, the House of Representatives passed the Cyber Vulnerability Disclosure Reporting Act by voice vote. The Act directs the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to prepare a report describing the policies and procedures that DHS developed to coordinate the cyber vulnerability disclosures. Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 … Continue Reading
As we summarized last fall, the EU Commission published a new Cybersecurity Communication in September that, among other things, sets out proposals for an EU cybersecurity certification framework as part of an EU “Cybersecurity Act” (see our post here and a more detailed summary here). Just before the holidays, on December 20, 2017, the UK Government published a consultation on these proposals, which the … Continue Reading
Covington’s global cross-practice Digital Health team has posted an illuminating three-part series on the Covington Digital Health blog that covers key questions entities should be asking as they seek to fit together the regulatory and commercial pieces of the complex digital health puzzle. In the first part of the series, the Digital Health team answers key regulatory questions … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the FTC’s staff released a series of blog posts entitled Stick with Security that updated and expanded upon the prior Start with Security best-practices guide for information security practices. The Stick with Security series draws from FTC complaints, consent orders, closed investigations, and input from companies around the country to provide deeper … Continue Reading
The White House released on November 15, 2017 the Vulnerabilities Equities Policy and Process for the United States Government (“VEP”) — the process by which the Government determines whether to disseminate or restrict information about new, nonpublic vulnerabilities that it discovers. This release was motivated by criticism following the allegations that significant cyber-attacks have exploited … Continue Reading
Last week, the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus hosted “Hacking: What Color Is Your Hat? Vulnerability Disclosures and the Law,” a discussion on the importance of vulnerability disclosures to protect information systems and the nation’s cyber security defenses, and how private and public actors can safely encourage vulnerability reporting. Technology and security companies … Continue Reading
Steve Surdu is a Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at Covington and a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity Incident Response Team. Prior to joining the firm, Steve served as Vice President of Professional Services at Mandiant, a leading cybersecurity firm. Steve has more than 35 years of experience both as a consultant and as a senior executive … Continue Reading
In the immediate aftermath of discovering a cybersecurity incident, companies often face many questions and few answers amidst a frenzy of activity. What happened? What should we do now? What legal risks does the company face, and how should it protect against them? In this fast-paced environment, it can be difficult to coordinate the activity … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the UK Government published a consultation on plans to implement the EU Directive on security of network and information systems (the “NIS Directive”, otherwise known as the Cybersecurity Directive). The consultation includes a proposal to fine firms that fail to implement “appropriate and proportionate security measures” up to EUR 20 million or … Continue Reading
Delaware Gov. John Carney has signed into law a bill that will impose more stringent obligations for notifying affected Delaware residents in the event of a data breach, in addition to establishing requirements for Delaware businesses to maintain “reasonable” data security practices. In addition to expanding the types of information that would require notification of … Continue Reading
On August 18, 2017, the Central Bank of Kenya (“CBK”) used its authority under Section 33(4) of the Banking Act to publish a Guidance Note on identifying and mitigating cyber risk. The Guidance Note directs institutions licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 488) (“Institutions”) to develop and implement a comprehensive set of program requirements to … Continue Reading
By Susan Cassidy, Jenny Martin, and Catlin Meade The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) released on August 15, 2017 its proposed update to Special Publication (“SP”) 800-53. NIST SP 800-53, which was last revised in 2014, provides information security standards and guidelines, including baseline control requirements, for implementation on federal information systems under … Continue Reading
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 to safeguard the security of executive agencies’ … Continue Reading
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 to establish a formal program … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Last week, New Mexico and Tennessee both passed legislation updating each state’s requirements for notifying residents following a data breach. New Mexico’s new law, H.B. 15, makes it the 48th U.S. state to enact a state data breach notification law, leaving Alabama and South Dakota as the only states that have not enacted similar laws. … Continue Reading
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced this week that there were a record number of data breach notices in New York in 2016, with nearly 1,300 reported data breaches exposing the personal records of 1.6 million New Yorkers. These numbers represented a 60 percent year-over-year increase in the number of data breaches reported, … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 (D-CA)), would expand the FCC’s certification authority … Continue Reading
