Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • May 16, 2024

    Prosecutors Say Fake Fortune 500 Workers Funded N. Korea

    The Biden administration alleged that North Korea may have raised $6.8 million to develop nuclear weapons by installing remote information technology workers at Fortune 500 businesses, announcing charges Thursday against two individuals accused of helping agents pose as U.S. employees.

  • May 16, 2024

    SEC Adopts Rules For Uncovering, Reporting Data Breaches

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the adoption of cybersecurity rules Thursday that will require investment advisers and broker-dealers to put procedures in place for detecting data breaches and for notifying customers when their personal information may have been compromised.

  • May 16, 2024

    AI Study Tool Student Creator Sues Emory Over Suspension

    A student who received a $10,000 prize last year from Emory University for helping to create an artificially intelligent study tool is now suing the university for suspending him on the basis that using the tool could be a violation of the academic honor code.

  • May 16, 2024

    Fired MSU Coach Freed From Suit Over Abuse Accuser's Texts

    A Michigan judge on Thursday tossed a privacy lawsuit against former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker over the sharing of text messages from an anti-sexual violence activist who has accused him of sexual harassment.

  • May 16, 2024

    Burger King Franchisee Seeks BIPA Coverage Quick Win

    A Burger King franchisee asked an Illinois federal court to rule that due to precedent and policy ambiguities, its umbrella insurer must defend it in a class action claiming it violated Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act by nonconsensually collecting fingerprint data.

  • May 16, 2024

    DC Judge Mulls Dominion's DQ Bid For Pro-Trump Mich. Atty

    Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems pursuing defamation claims against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne fought Thursday to disqualify the Michigan attorney representing him, insisting to a D.C. federal judge that disqualification is the most appropriate remedy for the lawyer's leak of Dominion's confidential discovery documents.

  • May 16, 2024

    Meta Hit With EU Probe Over Child Safety Concerns

    Meta was hit on Thursday with an investigation by the European Commission over concerns its Facebook and Instagram services could promote addictions in children.

  • May 16, 2024

    US Must Produce Emails Between IRS Managers, Docs Leaker

    The government must produce emails between Internal Revenue Service managers and a former contractor who leaked thousands of wealthy people's tax returns, a Florida federal judge has ordered, saying the materials are relevant to a billionaire's case accusing the agency of responsibility for the leak.

  • May 15, 2024

    Arizona AG Lobs Suits Over 'Deceptive' Amazon Practices

    Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Wednesday filed a pair of suits claiming that Amazon Prime's cancellation process and other features are deceptive, misleading and have led to higher prices for consumers.

  • May 15, 2024

    Blackbaud Dodges Data Breach Victims' Class Cert. Bid

    A South Carolina federal judge has refused to certify several proposed classes consisting of roughly 1.5 billion patients, donors and other individuals whose personal information was allegedly swept up in a 2020 ransomware attack on software provider Blackbaud Inc., finding that the plaintiffs had failed to show that class members could be easily identified. 

  • May 15, 2024

    SolarWinds Says SEC's Cyber Breach Suit Goes Too Far

    SolarWinds Corp. on Wednesday asked a Manhattan federal judge to throw out the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's suit accusing the enterprise software company of deceiving investors about its lax cybersecurity, which left it open to a Russian hacking campaign.

  • May 15, 2024

    State Farm Can't Dodge TCPA Suit Over Robocalls

    State Farm must face a proposed class action alleging it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by using a third-party company to make automated telemarketing calls without prior consent, an Illinois federal judge has ruled, saying the suit states a plausible claim of the insurer's vicarious liability for the robocalls.

  • May 15, 2024

    Flexibility In Info Security Policy May Add Compliance Burden

    New federal guidance for contractors handling sensitive, but unclassified information could introduce confusion and compliance burdens if agencies implement security controls without consulting contractors. 

  • May 15, 2024

    UnitedHealth Concealed DOJ Merger Investigation, Suit Says

    UnitedHealth Group has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that it failed to disclose that the U.S. Department of Justice had reopened an antitrust investigation into the health insurance giant following its acquisition of a healthcare data company, and that top executives had sold more than $120 million of shares knowing about the investigation before a news report revealed it to the public.

  • May 15, 2024

    En Banc 9th Circ. Will Mull Jurisdiction In Shopify Privacy Suit

    The Ninth Circuit agreed to review en banc a panel's decision dismissing a suit alleging payment processing company Shopify collects shoppers' sensitive information without permission, after the plaintiff argued the full court should hear the case to resolve how to assess personal jurisdiction in online misconduct cases.

  • May 15, 2024

    Anti-Trans Groups Fail To Block Wash. Youth Shelter Law

    A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by two anti-transgender groups challenging a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for teens seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive health services, ruling that speculating on possible injury was not enough to clear a standing hurdle.

  • May 15, 2024

    FTC Chair Khan Defends Request For 25% Budget Increase

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan defended a 25% budget increase request during a House appropriations hearing Wednesday, calling it "healthy" that aggressive Biden administration merger enforcement has made antitrust considerations top of mind for companies mulling transactions.

  • May 15, 2024

    House Panel Advances Tax-Exempt Org Oversight Bills

    The House Ways and Means Committee approved a package of bills Wednesday that would increase scrutiny of foreign donations to tax-exempt organizations, including legislation that would require those organizations to publicly report the donations.

  • May 15, 2024

    FCC Could Require ISP Reports On Internet Routing Security

    The Federal Communications Commission will vote on a plan next month to require the largest broadband providers to file confidential reports on security of the internet's main routing technology, the Border Gateway Protocol.

  • May 15, 2024

    Ex-FTX Exec Seeks Leniency, Saying He Was Kept In The Dark

    A former top FTX official has asked a Manhattan federal judge for a lenient 18-month sentence, saying he was not part of company co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle and was as shocked as everyone else to learn that the crypto exchange was operating a fraud that siphoned billions in customer funds.

  • May 15, 2024

    Senators Release 'Road Map' For Crafting Federal AI Policy

    A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday laid out a "road map" for artificial intelligence policy that calls for increased AI innovation funding, testing of potential harms posed by AI and consideration of the technology's workforce implications.

  • May 15, 2024

    Kirkland Guiding Billionaire McCourt On Bid To Buy TikTok

    Billionaire Frank McCourt, advised by Kirkland & Ellis, says he's building a consortium to purchase TikTok and redesign the platform to eliminate the collection of users' information, putting "people in control of their [own] digital identities and data." 

  • May 15, 2024

    Mortgage Co.'s $2.4M Data Breach Settlement Gets Initial OK

    A Connecticut federal judge gave her initial sign-off to a $2.4 million settlement between mortgage firm Planet Home Lending LLC and a consolidated class of customers whose personal data, including their Social Security numbers, was exposed in a cyberattack.

  • May 14, 2024

    Gunster Data Breach Affected 9K Clients' Data, Suit Says

    A former client of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart PA has filed a proposed class action in Florida federal court, alleging the law firm's weak cybersecurity systems allowed outsiders to access clients' personal and sensitive health information and that the firm waited over a year to inform those affected.

  • May 14, 2024

    Davis Wright-Led TikTok Creators Challenge Potential Ban

    Following TikTok Inc.'s lead, a group of creators on Tuesday lodged their own challenge to a new federal law that would exclude the popular app from the U.S. market unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company, telling the D.C. Circuit that the measure undermines the First Amendment.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

    Author Photo

    In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.

  • Ill. BIPA Ruling May Spark Violation-Of-Law Exclusion Fight

    Author Photo

    An Illinois appeals court's recent holding in National Fire Insurance v. Visual Pak that a violation-of-law exclusion didn't preclude coverage for an underlying Biometric Information Privacy Act suit contradicts an earlier Seventh Circuit decision that aligns with long-standing insurance law principles — which may lead the state's high court to weigh in, says Tae Andrews at Pasich.

  • 5 Privacy And Cybersecurity Resolutions For 2024

    Author Photo

    In 2023, companies grappled with an unprecedented array of data privacy and cybersecurity challenges that are likely to continue in 2024, meaning businesses will be well-served to incorporate strategies, such as data governance and website configuration, into their compliance programs, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine and Violet Sullivan at Crum & Forster.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

    Author Photo

    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

    Author Photo

    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Shopify Ruling May Support Personal-Jurisdiction Defenses

    Author Photo

    Litigators, cybersecurity practitioners and web-based entities should all take note of the Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in Briskin v. Shopify, as it could lend significant support to personal-jurisdiction defenses, but such entities should still consider how their operations might tie them to certain states, say John Gray and Patrick McCormick at Lewis Roca.

  • Series

    Texas Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

    Author Photo

    Among the most noteworthy developments in the Texas banking sphere in the last quarter of 2023 were the Texas Department of Banking's extension of the state banking commissioner's authority, a recommendation to implement an updated ransomware self-assessment tool, and ongoing litigation in the state involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says Patrick Hanchey at Alston & Bird.

  • 6 AI Cases And What They Mean For Copyright Law

    Author Photo

    Artificial intelligence cases filed last year, some decided and others pending, demonstrate how the appellate courts that set binding precedent look at the intersection between copyright and AI, so legal frameworks must adapt and provide clarity in order to foster innovation, protect creators, and ensure fair and equitable outcomes, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Cybersecurity Issues For Financial Industry To Track In 2024

    Author Photo

    In 2024 financial institutions will confront new federal, state and industry regulations around cybersecurity that require additional procedures, enhanced proactive security measures, and timely disclosure of security incidents, say Alex Koskey and Matt White at Baker Donelson.

  • How AI Is Changing The Game Of Professional Sports

    Author Photo

    As more professional sports teams and organizations employ the use of artificial intelligence, counsel should keep a critical eye on several legal issues, including both state and federal regulatory developments, data privacy concerns, and how AI tools could potentially affect applicable intellectual property rights, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • What To Expect From The CFPB This Year

    Author Photo

    The potential for upheaval at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be greater during an election year, and there are several opportunities and challenges ahead for the bureau in 2024, say Eric Mogilnicki and David Stein at Covington.

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

    Author Photo

    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • 10 Privacy Compliance Areas To Focus On In 2024

    Author Photo

    The fast pace of change in the cybersecurity realm means reactive approaches to new laws, regulations and enforcement actions are not effective ways to build or scale privacy programs, so companies should plan strategically and prepare for a few emerging risks and requirements in the first half of this year, says Sam Castic at Hintze Law.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

    Author Photo

    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

  • Artificial Intelligence Is In Need Of Regulation — But How?

    Author Photo

    Since most of the artificial intelligence-related laws in 2023 were part of more extensive consumer privacy law, the U.S. still has a lot of work to do to build consensus on how to oversee AI, and even who should do the regulating, before moving forward on specific and reasonable guidelines as AI's capabilities grow, say Nick Toufexis and Paul Saputo at Saputo Toufexis.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Cybersecurity & Privacy archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!