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On December 2, 2021, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) announced the issuance of Security Directive 1580-21-01, Enhancing Rail Cybersecurity, and Security Directive 1582-21-01, Enhancing Public Transportation and Passenger Railroad Cybersecurity (the “December Security Directives”), and “additional guidance for voluntary measures to strengthen cybersecurity across the transportation sector in response to the ongoing cybersecurity threat to surface transportation systems and associated infrastructure.”  TSA’s announcement clarifies that these actions are “among several steps DHS is taking to increase the cybersecurity of U.S. critical infrastructure.”

The December Security Directives, which become effective on December 31, 2021, impose significant requirements on owners and operators of “higher-risk freight railroads, passenger rail, and rail transit.”  TSA’s announcement also explained that it has extended certain requirements of the December Security Directives to airport and airline operators and has recommended that “all other lower-risk surface transportation owners and operators voluntarily implement” the requirements of the December Security Directives.
Continue Reading TSA Imposes New Cybersecurity Requirements for Rail and Air Sectors

On October 9, 2020, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) issued guidance on the use of facial recognition technology for identity checks at airports (available here, in French).  The CNIL indicates that it has issued this guidance in response to a request from several operators and service providers of airports in France who are planning to deploy this technology on an experimental basis.  In this blog post, we summarize the main principles that the CNIL says airports should observe when deploying biometric technology.
Continue Reading French Supervisory Authority Releases Strict Guidance on the Use of Facial Recognition Technology at Airports

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

On 25 May 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect. The GDPR establishes some of the most robust privacy requirements globally and is likely to be a model followed by other jurisdictions. Airlines are uniquely affected by the GDPR with passenger data being at the heart of their business and international operations. As new technologies allow airlines to pursue new and innovative uses of customer data, it is imperative that airlines continue to conduct their operations with GDPR compliance in mind, particularly given the financial and other reputational issues that can arise for a failure to meet the GDPR’s strict requirements.

Below are 5 key issues for airlines to consider in relation to the GDPR post-implementation.
Continue Reading GDPR: Top 5 Post-Implementation Issues for Airlines