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On December 22, 2020, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (“ENISA”) published a draft scheme for cloud services (see press release here and scheme here). Cloud services that meet the security requirements of the scheme will be able to obtain a certification attesting their level of cybersecurity. The draft scheme is available for public consultation until February 7, 2021.
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Continue Reading The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity Publishes a Draft Certification Scheme for Cloud Services

On Friday, December 4, 2020, President Trump signed the bipartisan Internet of Things (“IoT”) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 into law.  The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act empowers the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) to create cybersecurity standards for internet-connected devices purchased and used by federal agencies.  For more information on the law, please…

On September 30, 2020, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (“MS-ISAC”) released a joint guide synthesizing best practices to prevent and respond to ransomware.  This guide was published the day before OFAC and FinCEN released their coordinated guidance on ransomware attacks that we previously summarized here.

Ransomware is malware that encrypts data on a victim’s device, thus rendering the data inaccessible, until a ransom is paid in exchange for decryption.  Both the nature and scope of ransomware incidents have become “more destructive and impactful” in recent years.  In particular, tactics of malicious actors include threatening to release stolen data or publicly naming victims as part of the extortion.  Accordingly, the guide encourages organizations to take proactive efforts to manage risks posed by ransomware and recommends a coordinated response to mitigate its impact.…
Continue Reading CISA and MS-ISAC Release Joint Guide on Ransomware

Consistent with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s ongoing focus on cyber-enabled financial crime, on October 1, 2020, two components of the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence issued guidance on ransomware-related payments.  One, an advisory issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), describes the significant U.S. sanctions risks of facilitating ransomware payments, and expresses a strong policy preference against doing so.  The second, an advisory issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), alerts financial institutions to trends and indicators of ransomware-related money laundering.  Both underscore the difficult decisions faced by ransomware victims and third parties who assist them as they seek to navigate the loss of access to key data on the one hand, and increasingly significant regulatory risks that making a ransomware payment could entail on the other.…
Continue Reading Coordinated OFAC and FinCEN Guidance on Ransomware Attacks Underscores the Regulatory Risk and Complexity of Paying a Ransom

In this edition of our regular roundup on legislative initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, the Internet of Things (IoT), and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), we focus on key developments in the European Union (EU).
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Continue Reading AI, IoT, and CAV Legislative Update: EU Spotlight (Third Quarter 2020)

In a new post on the Covington Energy & Environment Blog, our colleagues discuss the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Notice of Inquiry on updating reliability standards related to cybersecurity, especially given the threat of a coordinated cyberattack targeting geographically distributed generation resources.  The Commission also issued a staff paper that suggests a framework for providing…

On 1 April 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its ruling in WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 12.  The Court ruled that Morrisons was not vicariously liable for a data breach deliberately perpetrated by an employee.  The judgment is significant in that it overturned the decisions of the two lower courts (the High Court and Court of Appeal) and provides guidance for employers on when they may be held vicariously liable for data breaches and other violations of the GDPR involving employees, who act as independent controllers in their own right.
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Continue Reading UK Supreme Court Rules That Supermarket Is Not Vicariously Liable For Data Breach Committed By Employee

In order to combat the proliferation of COVID-1, several EU Member States have strongly recommended or required that employees engage in teleworking, rather than attend work as normal. In this context, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (“ENISA”), on March 15, 2020, issued its “top tips for cybersecurity when working remotely”. Some data protection Supervisory…

On March 21, 2020, the data security requirements of the New York SHIELD Act became effective.  The Act, which amends New York’s General Business Law, represents an expansion of New York’s existing cybersecurity and data breach notification laws.  Its two main impacts on businesses are:

  1. expanding data breach notification requirements under New York law; and

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Covington experts on issues as varied as supply chain and other commercial contracts, employment, and insurance are supporting companies on the commercial implications of Coronavirus COVID-19.  But this blog post provides a brief overview of some of the key issues that privacy and cybersecurity professionals should have top of mind in dealing with response efforts.  We describe below both privacy implications of disclosing data to government authorities and commercial partners and strategies to manage COVID-19 risk by collecting additional information about employees and visitors, as well as the cybersecurity implications of these outbreak prevention and management efforts.

  • Our professionals around the globe have been advising clients on the privacy risks of disclosing health and other personal data to public health authorities and other government agencies.  As we blogged about here, regulators at many different levels of the Chinese government have been actively collecting personal data to monitor and mitigate the spread of the virus, and that’s now happening across the globe.  Other public health agencies worldwide are requesting information from private companies to assist with containing or mitigating the spread of the virus.  For example, they may seek information about a person’s contacts in order to conduct contract tracing of an infected person.  Although public health agencies generally have broad information-gathering authorities, these laws typically do not overcome privacy laws that restrict disclosures of personal or other sensitive information.  Companies may need to consider how to mitigate these legal risks before responding, particularly where more detailed information is requested. …
    Continue Reading Key COVID-19 Issues for Privacy and Cybersecurity Professionals