Cybersecurity / Data Security

The summer has been anything but slow in the People’s Republic of China. China is leaning into its regulation of emerging technologies, while attempting to strike a balance with its domestic economic priorities. In just the past few weeks, state authorities have issued a slew of draft measures and announced new initiatives – all with significant ramifications for businesses processing data within the PRC. From personal information processing to facial recognition to cross-border data transfers, what follows is a highlight reel of what you may have missed while you were away on vacation, with the comment period for many of these developments closing within the next few weeks.

Continue Reading Catch Up Fast: The “Data Days” of Summer in China

On July 26, 2023, the SEC finalized long-awaited disclosure rules (the “Final Rules”) regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incidents by public companies that are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  While the end results are substantially similar to rules proposed by the SEC in March 2022, there are some key distinctions. 

Continue Reading Five Key Takeaways from the SEC’s Final Cybersecurity Rules for Public Companies

On 29 July 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a decision in the Fashion ID case, a case referred to it by a German court. In this blog post we will focus on what this case means with regard to joint controllership when you have social media plug-ins on your

Concluding its investigation into the internal accounting controls of nine public issuers who were recent cyber fraud victims, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Division of Enforcement explicitly reminded issuers to consider cyber-related threats in developing and deploying their Section 13(b)(2)(B) internal accounting controls.

The SEC emphasized the importance of tailoring internal accounting controls to cyber-related threats, noting that cyber frauds like those carried out in the nine cases it investigated have caused “over $5 billion in losses since 2013, with an additional $675 million in adjusted losses in 2017.”
Continue Reading SEC Encourages Internal Accounting Controls to Guard Against Cyber Fraud

Responding to the rise of interconnected technology, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently issued an introductory document in a planned series of cybersecurity publications addressing Internet of Things (IoT) privacy risks.  Open for comment through October 24, 2018, the Draft NISTIR 8228, Considerations for Managing Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity and

The federal government has kept busy this summer by issuing multiple regulations impacting government contractors’ cybersecurity.  First, the Department of Defense released the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included notable cybersecurity provisions involving foreign ownership and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), among others.  Second, Congress passed the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act requiring the

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) is hosting a cybersecurity workshop on the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation System (“DFARS”) Safeguarding Clause and related regulations on Thursday, October 18, 2018.  The workshop, in coordination with the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and the National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”), will provide an overview of Controlled

On February 27, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a proposed administrative settlement with PayPal, Inc. over allegations that the company failed to make adequate disclosures to users regarding its Venmo peer-to-peer payment service. The settlement underscores the importance of effectively disclosing material information to consumers, including accurately communicating privacy and security practices and user control over optional settings.

Specifically, the FTC alleged that Venmo

Continue Reading PayPal Settles FTC Claims Regarding Venmo’s Disclosure, Privacy, and Security Practices

Crowell & Moring has issued its Regulatory Forecast 2018: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year.

The Forecast cover story, Digital Transformation: The Sky’s the Limit,” provides a look at how technology is helping companies soar to new heights and how regulation can help companies to succeed.

On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted unanimously to disseminate its Statement and Guidance on Public Company Cybersecurity Disclosures, an “interpretive guidance” designed to help publicly-traded companies satisfy their cybersecurity risk disclosure obligations. The new guidance supplements the SEC’s initial October 13, 2011 Cybersecurity Disclosure Guidance, which was relatively broad, by: 1) articulating the SEC’s expectations regarding the adequacy of disclosures; and, for the first time, 2) recommending the implementation of policies and procedures that address disclosure controls as well as insider trading. 
Continue Reading U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Ups the Ante for Addressing Corporate Cyber Risks