The Department of Justice has announced the indictment of seven Iranian hackers alleged to work for the Iranian government on charges stemming from a coordinated string of distributed denial of service (“DDoS”) attacks primarily against U.S. financial institutions from 2011 to 2013. One of the hackers is also charged with hacking into the supervisory control […]
Enforcement
EU Privacy Leaders Discuss US-EU Privacy Shield at Event Co-Hosted by A&B Partner
On March 22, 2016, the International Association of Privacy Professional (IAPP) hosted a podium discussion in Brussels on the new EU-US Privacy Shield. Alston & Bird co-hosted the event, which featured two top-notch privacy luminaries from EU legislative and oversight bodies: Mr. Giovanni Buttarelli, the present European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Mr. Bruno Gencarelli, Head […]
HHS/OCR Announces Launch of HIPAA Audit Program Phase 2
Today, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’s (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the launch of Phase 2 of its HIPAA Compliance Audit Program. (OCR’s announcement can be accessed at Audit Phase 2 Announcement and further information about Phase 2 can be accessed at Audit Phase 2 Information.) In this phase, OCR will […]
FCC Proposes New Privacy Rules for Internet Service Providers
On March 10, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) proposed new privacy and data security rules for Internet service providers (“ISPs”) that, if passed, would regulate how ISPs collect, use, share, and protect customers’ data. The notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated for consideration by the full Commission is previewed […]
FTC Announces Study of PCI-DSS Assessment Companies
On Monday, March 7 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing that it had issued Orders to nine Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) companies, which are certified to assess whether or not entities involved in payment card processing, such as merchants, are compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). […]