Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • February 12, 2025

    OPM Violated Employees' Privacy Rights, Unions Say

    The U.S. Office of Personnel Management violated federal privacy laws when it gave Elon Musk's recently established Department of Government Efficiency access to its employment records, unions representing federal employees and administrative law judges said in a lawsuit filed in New York federal court.

  • February 12, 2025

    Mnuchin, Others Face Fiduciary Suit From Cybersecurity CEO

    The CEO of AI-driven cybersecurity venture Cybereason has sued former U.S. treasury secretary and company director Steven Mnuchin, along with others, in Delaware's Court of Chancery over financing roadblocks that allegedly threaten to tip the company into bankruptcy.

  • February 12, 2025

    Google Must Face Wiretapping Suit Over AI-Powered Assistant

    A California federal judge has refused to toss a proposed class action accusing Google of using a "human-like" customer-service product powered by artificial intelligence to illegally eavesdrop on users' calls with Hulu, Verizon and others, finding the consumers adequately allege Google is a third party that can benefit from the data.

  • February 12, 2025

    Treasury Chief Exempt From Block On DOGE's System Access

    A New York federal judge clarified that an order blocking Elon Musk and members of his Department of Government Efficiency team from accessing U.S. Treasury Department payment systems does not apply to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

  • February 12, 2025

    Meta User Antitrust Suit Gets Nov. 17 Trial Date

    A California federal judge has set a Nov. 17 trial date for accusations that Meta monopolized the social media advertising market weeks after he declined to certify a class of Facebook users that would have numbered in the millions.

  • February 12, 2025

    Starbucks Accused Of Flouting Mass. Polygraph Hiring Law

    Starbucks is ignoring a Massachusetts law requiring employers to inform job-seekers that the state doesn't allow the use of lie detector tests in employment decisions, according to a putative class action filed in state court.

  • February 11, 2025

    Trump Tells Agencies To Plan 'Large-Scale' Cuts With Musk

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that directs agencies to prepare for "large-scale" cuts to the federal workforce and gives Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency the authority to approve the future hiring of career officials.

  • February 11, 2025

    Wash. Health Privacy Law Debuts In Amazon Tracking Suit

    A Washington resident has launched the first claims under the state's groundbreaking health privacy law, as part of a proposed class action accusing Amazon of unlawfully harvesting location data from tens of millions of mobile phone users through third-party apps that are running the company's software development kit. 

  • February 11, 2025

    DOGE, Treasury Accused Of 'Largest' US Data Breach

    Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management conducted the "largest" data and IT security breaches in U.S. history, illegally exposing millions of people's sensitive information, a data privacy watchdog and group of federal employees alleged this week.

  • February 11, 2025

    Ex-NY Gov. Aide And Husband Deny Foreign Agent Charges

    A former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Linda Sun, and her husband on Tuesday pled not guilty to a superseding indictment that accuses her of secretly acting as an agent of China's government and adds new money laundering charges against her spouse.

  • February 11, 2025

    Progressive Inks $3.25M Data Breach Deal With 350K Members

    Approximately 350,000 Progressive Casualty Insurance customers on Tuesday asked an Ohio federal judge to grant final approval to a $3.25 million settlement stemming from a data breach event that exposed their personal information, noting the resolution is a favorable outcome, given the risks to their claims if litigation continued.

  • February 11, 2025

    2 Russians Arrested In $16M Phobos Ransomware Scheme

    Two Russian nationals were arrested on charges of operating a cybercrime cell that extorted about $16 million from victims around the world by stealing data and demanding a ransom for its return, Maryland federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

  • February 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts X Plaintiff Can Revive Phone Data Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday questioned whether a lawsuit targeting social platform X could be revived and remanded to state court, with one judge suggesting circuit precedent established a privacy right that keeps the case in federal court, and another saying the lower court had "broad discretion" in deciding to dismiss the case.

  • February 11, 2025

    Ex-Employee Sues Fla. News Database Co. Over Data Breach

    An Oklahoma resident has brought a proposed federal class action over a data breach against a Florida-based news database company, alleging that she was an employee and that her former employer didn't do enough to adequately protect her personal information from being stolen.

  • February 11, 2025

    No Prison For Firm Manager Who Aided Feds' No-Fault Bust

    A Manhattan federal judge allowed a wealthy law firm manager to avoid prison Tuesday for his role in paying bribes that fueled a $70 million no-fault automobile insurance fraud racket, citing his decision to cooperate with prosecutors and willingness to testify.

  • February 11, 2025

    Factual Dispute Keeps Walmart BIPA Suit In Court, For Now

    An Illinois jury will determine whether a driver for Walmart's grocery delivery platform Spark signed an arbitration agreement during his onboarding before a federal judge can decide whether his underlying biometric privacy claims should be redirected away from court, the judge said Tuesday.

  • February 11, 2025

    FTC Bureau Heads Include DOJ Alum With Big Tech Mandate

    The Federal Trade Commission named its new competition and consumer protection bureau chiefs Monday, tapping for its top competition enforcer the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's civil conduct head, praised specifically for his "experience taking on Big Tech."

  • February 11, 2025

    Fla. Judge OKs $7M Deal In Health Data Breach Class Action

    A Florida federal judge Tuesday granted final approval of a $7 million class action settlement as part of multidistrict litigation over the theft of personal information from millions of U.S. citizens in a health data breach linked to a Russian ransomware group.

  • February 11, 2025

    DC Circ. Won't Pause Google Search Case For Apple Appeal

    The D.C. Circuit refused to pause the government's search monopolization case against Google while Apple appeals a ruling that denied its bid to participate in a coming April trial meant to determine what remedies to impose on Google for violating antitrust law.

  • February 11, 2025

    Crowell & Moring Adds Two Former In-House Counsel

    Crowell & Moring LLP has hired two attorneys who most recently worked in-house in leadership roles with the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the global technology investor Naspers, now joining the firm's privacy and cybersecurity group as senior counsel, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • February 11, 2025

    Wiley Brings On Longtime FTC Atty As Counsel

    Washington, D.C., firm Wiley Rein LLP has added a former Federal Trade Commission official as counsel, the firm said in a Tuesday announcement.

  • February 11, 2025

    Commerce Powers Key In Battle Over Corp. Transparency Law

    The question of whether Congress exceeded its powers to regulate commerce by enacting the Corporate Transparency Act is likely to feature in a potential U.S. Supreme Court resolution to around a dozen challenges to the law that are percolating through the courts.

  • February 11, 2025

    Automakers Lose Fight To Block Mass. 'Right To Repair' Law

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday tossed what was left of a long-running suit filed by major automakers seeking to block a Bay State law requiring vehicle manufacturers to provide open access to telematics systems.

  • February 10, 2025

    Feds Nab Plea In Bitcoin-Boosting Hack Of SEC X Account

    An Alabama man on Monday pled guilty to being involved with the hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's X account last year, admitting to a single conspiracy charge and agreeing to forfeit $50,000 he made from the scheme that briefly bumped the price of bitcoin.

  • February 10, 2025

    GOP Sens. Restart Effort To Get Lawmaker OK For Major Regs

    It could become tougher for the Federal Communications Commission to adopt new rules for the telecom industry under a bill Republicans have reintroduced that would require a congressional green light for major new regulations.

Expert Analysis

  • Risk Disclosure Issue Remains After Justices Nix Meta Case

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    After full briefing and argument, the U.S. Supreme Court recently dismissed Facebook v. Amalgamated Bank as improvidently granted, leaving courts with the tricky endeavor of determining when the failure to disclose a past event in an Item 105 risk disclosure is materially misleading, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation

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    The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Collateral Estoppel Continues Evolving

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    We are starting to see brighter lines on collateral estoppel involving Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, illustrated by two recent cases that considered whether collateral estoppel should apply to factual findings on prior art from the PTAB in a later district court litigation, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • SEC Prioritized Enforcement Sweeps As Cases Slowed In '24

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    Following three consecutive years of increasing activity, fiscal year 2024 marked the lowest number of cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought since Gary Gensler assumed office in April 2021, buttressed by some familiar enforcement sweeps, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence

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    The Bureau of Industry and Security’s recent removal of a Canadian surveillance provider from its export blacklist, after just eight months, illustrates the importance of integrating human rights due diligence into the vetting process by asking a few targeted questions, say attorneys at Cravath.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • With Precautions, AI Can Help With Suspicious Activity Filings

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    While artificial intelligence can enhance suspicious activity report processes, financial services firms should review applicable expectations and areas of deficiencies that can lead to enforcement actions before using AI to help write SARs, say attorneys at Jenner.

  • 9th Circ.'s High Bar May Limit Keyword Confusion TM Claims

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    A recent Ninth Circuit ruling that a law firm did not infringe upon a competitor’s trademarks by paying Google to promote its website when users searched for the rival’s name signals that plaintiffs likely can no longer win infringement suits by claiming competitive keyword advertising confuses internet-savvy consumers, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • Mitigating Defamation Liability Risks Of AI-Generated Content

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    Until Congress and the courts provide clear guidance about defamation liability stemming from generative artificial intelligence tools, companies should begin building controls to prevent the creation of defamatory content, says Michael Gerrity at Accenture.

  • What Trump's Next Term May Mean For Biz Immigration

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    Leonard D'Arrigo at Harris Beach discusses the employment-based immigration policies businesses can potentially expect during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, based on policies enacted during his first administration, statements made during his campaign and proposals in Project 2025.

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