On June 3, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a pivotal ruling in longstanding litigation against Marriott International, Inc., arising out of a 2018 data breach involving its Starwood Preferred Guest Program. In reversing the lower court’s grant of class certification, the Fourth Circuit determined that the customers’ contractual agreements […]
Data Breach
UK Data Protection Regulator Fines UK Law Firm ~$80,000 Following Ransomware Incident
On April 14, 2025, the UK data protection regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”)) fined DPP Law (“DPP”) £60,000 (approximately $80,000) following a ransomware incident. In its penalty notice, the ICO found that DPP failed to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures, as required by Article 5(1)(f) and Article 32 UK GDPR. This is the […]
UK’s Data Protection Regulator fines a UK SaaS provider ~$4 million following a ransomware incident
On March 26, 2025, the UK data protection regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”)) fined Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd (“Advanced”) £3.07 million (approximately $4 million). In 2022, Advanced suffered a ransomware incident that put the personal data of 79,404 people at risk. In its penalty notice, the ICO found that Advanced failed to implement […]
New York Amends Data Breach Notification Law with Immediate Implications
In late December 2024, the New York Governor signed two bills (S2659B and S2376B) amending the state’s data breach notification law (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 899-aa), to expand the definition of reportable personal information and impose new covered entity reporting obligations in the event of a data breach. Effective immediately, companies will have 30 […]
Dutch Data Protection Authority Warns that Using AI Chatbots Can Lead to Personal Data Breaches
On August 6th, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued guidance cautioning companies about the potential data protection risks associated with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots. In its guidance, the DPA reports that it has recently received several notifications of personal data breaches caused by employees sharing personal data with a chatbot that […]