On January 27 and 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced two successful operations to disrupt two different strains of malware, Netwalker ransomware and a banking Trojan known as Emotet, which have affected victims around the globe and caused millions of dollars in damage in recent years. The law enforcement actions against Netwalker and […]
New Law Requires HHS to Consider Recognized Security Practices as Mitigating Factor When Determining Penalties
On January 5, 2021, the president signed into law H.R. 7898, an Act that amends the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider specific recognized security practices of covered entities and business associates when making certain determinations regarding fines, penalties, […]
Federal Court Rules Cyber Forensic Report Is Not Protected Under Attorney-Client Privilege Or Work Product Doctrine
On January 12, 2021, Judge Boasberg (D.D.C.) ruled that a forensic report prepared for outside counsel following a cyber incident investigation was not protected under either attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. The investigation in question was run by outside counsel and the security firm had been retained by outside counsel. This decision is […]
SolarWinds Hack: Unparalleled Supply Chain Attack Results in Potential Compromise of Private and Public Sector Organizations
On Sunday, December 13, 2020, SolarWinds announced that it had learned of a “highly sophisticated, manual supply chain attack” by a nation state affecting its Orion Platform, which is used by a wide variety of public and private sector organizations for IT infrastructure monitoring and management. In this attack, adversaries were able to compromise the […]
Peter Swire Testifies on Future of Transatlantic Data Flows
Peter Swire, Senior Counsel, Alston & Bird, Elizabeth and Tommy Holder Chair of Law and Ethics, Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, and Research Director, Cross-Border Data Forum, recently testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation on the invalidation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and the Future of Transatlantic Data Flows. […]