UK Supreme Court grant Morrisons permission to appeal vicarious liability finding
Posted in Data breachTag archives: data breach
Posted in Data breachFirst multi-million Euro GDPR fine: Google LLC fined €50 million under GDPR for transparency and consent infringements in relation to use of personal data for personalized ads
On January 21,2019 the French data protection authority (the CNIL) imposed a major fine on the U.S. Google entity, Google LLC. It follows two complaints filed as soon as the GDPR came into force by two consumer rights associations, None of Your Business and La Quadrature du Net. We focus here on four key aspects … Continue reading
Transition period under New York Cybersecurity Regulation ends March 1, 2019
The two-year transitional period under the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) Cybersecurity Regulation, 23 NYCRR 500 (the “Regulation”), will expire on March 1, 2019, with the final remaining requirement becoming effective. Entities covered by the Regulation that utilize third party service providers, which include not only banks and insurers, but also other … Continue reading
Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds common law duty for employers extends to protecting sensitive employee information
On November 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court broke new ground by holding that employers have a legal duty to take reasonable care to safeguard its employees’ sensitive personal information from cyberattacks. … Continue reading
Vicarious liability in the data breach context – bad news for UK employers?
Posted in Data breach
The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision of the High Court holding that an employer can be vicariously liable for data breaches caused by the actions of an employee, even where the employee’s actions were specifically intended to harm the employer. This decision is significant as it means a company can be held liable … Continue reading
Lloyd v Google – putting the brakes on English data breach litigation?
A judgment handed down today by the English High Court will be welcomed by UK data controllers. Lloyd v Google [2018] EWHC 2599 represents a corollary to recent case law expanding the circumstances in which litigation may be brought in relation to breaches of data protection legislation. Most notably, the case: reinforces the need for … Continue reading
FERC issues notice of proposed rulemaking to extend reporting requirements for cyberattacks targeting the energy sector
On July 23 and 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) held public briefings about an attempt by a state-sponsored Russian hacking group to target control systems for U.S. electrical grids and power plants. DHS’ webinar explained that the hackers obtained access to vendors providing computer services to electric utilities companies. This initial … Continue reading
Massachusetts Senate passes data protection bill targeting consumer credit agencies
On Thursday, April 26, 2018, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a data breach protection bill that strengthens consumer protections after security breaches involving consumer credit reporting agencies. If passed, the proposed legislation would amend Massachusetts’s current breach notification law. The bill aims to help consumers protect their sensitive information before, during, and after a data … Continue reading
Canada’s Mandatory Privacy Breach Reporting Requirements coming into force November 1, 2018
Posted in Data breach
As of November 1, 2018, organizations across Canada subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) will be required to provide notice of certain privacy breaches.… Continue reading
Ninth Circuit further entrenches circuit split over standing in data breach cases
On March 8, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in In re Zappos.com, Inc., finding that allegations of future risk of identity theft from a data breach are sufficient to confer standing. This decision fuels an ongoing circuit split, pitting the D.C., Sixth, Seventh and now Ninth Circuits against the Second, Fourth, … Continue reading
Vicarious liability in UK data breach-related litigation – is Morrisons a game-changer?
The High Court in London has handed down a judgment establishing that, as a matter of English law, a company can be held vicariously liable in respect of data breaches caused by its employees.… Continue reading
Draft mandatory data breach reporting regulations released for comment in Canada
Posted in Data breachOn September 2, 2017, the Government of Canada published proposed new regulations in the Canada Gazette, which set out specifics regarding the mandatory data breach reporting requirements under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. The PIPEDA Amendments were passed in June, 2015 but are not yet in force.… Continue reading
“But the emails” – companies’ SEC filings reflect ransomware risks
Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breachThe Equifax breach will likely devour the entire breach news cycle in the near term, given the size of the incident and that it gets to the essence of the company’s business of maintaining some of the most sensitive consumer information. Still, in what for the moment might seem like a more pedestrian risk, companies … Continue reading
Delaware amends data breach notification law
Posted in Data breach
Earlier this month, Delaware revamped its data breach notification law, with changes to go into effect April 14, 2018. Most notably, the new law requires any entity that has suffered a data breach that includes social security numbers to provide free credit monitoring services to affected residents for one year. The entity must provide all … Continue reading
Target Resolves State Attorney Generals’ Investigation
Posted in Data breach, Regulatory responseOn May 23, 2017, it was announced that Target Corporation had settled the investigation initiated by the Attorneys General[1] of 47 states and the District of Columbia resulting from its 2013 data security incident. Besides the $18.5 million being paid (the largest State AG data breach settlement amount to date), it is the promised remedial … Continue reading
Pa. Appellate Court: Employer Owes No Duty of Care to Protect Employee Data Against Breach
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania last month dismissed a class action lawsuit, Dittman v. UPMC, brought by employees of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (“UPMC”) for a 2014 data breach. The breach impacted nearly 62,000 UPMC employees and resulted in at least 788 fraudulent tax filings. The court held that UPMC had no duty to … Continue reading
Settlement of Target Data Breach Consumer Class Action Is Derailed On Appeal
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed the district court’s approval of a settlement and settlement class in the consolidated consumer class action arising from Target Corporation’s 2013 security incident. This decision provided a new perspective on a persistent dilemma in the evolving law of data breaches: how to handle data breach victims … Continue reading
Recent Developments from Our Sister Blogs
Posted in GeneralSkimming Case Highlights Difference Between Having Standing and Stating a Cause of Action
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a putative class action against Barnes & Noble last week based on an incident in 2012 in which criminals tampered with payment card PIN pad terminals to steal customer payment card information from retail stores in nine states. The court’s decision highlights an important … Continue reading
Sixth Circuit: Suit Challenging Data Breach Caused by Hacking May Proceed
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concluded that certain allegations of harm after a data breach caused by hacking are sufficiently concrete to confer Article III standing. This case may make it more difficult for companies defending data breach suits to quickly obtain dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims.… Continue reading
Australian mandatory data breach notification on the agenda again
The Australian Federal Parliament commenced sitting on August 30, 2016, and the long-proposed mandatory data breach notification legislation is again on the newly-elected Coalition Government’s agenda. Currently, the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) does not require an organisation or agency to notify an individual of a data breach involving their personal information, but this looks … Continue reading
Tennessee and Nebraska Amend Their Data Breach Notification Laws
Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breachTwo states, Tennessee and Nebraska, have recently enacted changes to their data breach notification laws that will go into effect in July. Here’s what you need to know about each:… Continue reading
Australian Mandatory Data Breach Regime Moves Closer to Reality
As mentioned in our previous legal update, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department released and sought comments on an exposure draft of a mandatory data breach notification bill, the Privacy Amendment (Notification of Serious Data Breaches) Bill 2015 (Cth) (Exposure Bill). The time for submissions has now closed, and the Attorney-General’s Department has published a number of the non-confidential … Continue reading
Fourth Circuit Holds that CGL Policy Covers Data Breach Class Action
On April 11, 2016, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by the Eastern District of Virginia that two Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance policies required an insurer cover the defense of a medical records company in a class-action claim relating to alleged failure to secure patients’ medical records.[1]… Continue reading
