On February 9, 2016, President Barack Obama unveiled his new Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), a comprehensive approach to confront cybersecurity challenges. As articulated in the CNAP Fact Sheet released by the White House, CNAP takes “near-term actions and puts in place a long-term strategy to enhance cybersecurity awareness and protections, protect privacy, maintain public […]
National Security & Digital Crimes
FFIEC Warns of Increase in Cyber Attacks Involving Extortion, Encourages Financial Institutions to Develop Response Programs
Last week, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued a joint statement warning of an “increasing frequency and severity of cyber attacks involving extortion.” The statement warned that criminals have been extorting financial institutions using a variety of tactics, including denial of service attacks, theft of sensitive information, and use of “ransomware,” which is […]
Alston & Bird to Host Live Program and Webinar on National Security, Espionage, and Data Breaches
On October 29, Alston & Bird’s Cybersecurity Preparedness & Response Team will host a live program and webinar called National Security, Cyber Espionage and “Bulk PII” Breaches in our Washington, DC office. The program will examine the recent phenomenon of allegedly state-sponsored actors executing major cyber-attacks specifically targeting large databases of personal data for espionage […]
Dominique Shelton Named to “Most Influential Lawyers in White Collar & Cyber Crimes Law” by LA Business Journal
Dominique Shelton, partner in Alston & Bird’s Privacy & Data Security Group, was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Most Influential Lawyers in White Collar & Cyber Crimes Law” of 2015. Described by the publication as “one of the top practitioners dealing with privacy and cyber law, with particular focus on the media and […]
FTC Looks “More Favorably” Upon Companies That Report Data Breaches to Law Enforcement
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it views companies that report data breaches to appropriate law enforcers “more favorably” than those companies that are less cooperative. Mark Eichorn, Assistant Director in the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, included the announcement in a May 20, 2015 blog post, describing a […]