On May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will impose significant new obligations on all U.S. companies that handle personal data of any EU individual. U.S. companies can be fined up to €20 million or 4% of their global annual revenue for the most egregious violations. What does the future passage of GDPR mean for your business?

Our experienced eDiscovery and Information Governance (eDIG) and Global Privacy and Security (GPS) practitioners will present a series of four 1-hour webinars in August through October of 2017. The presenters will provide a high-level discussion on risk assessment tools and remediation strategies to help prepare and reduce the cost of EU GDPR compliance.
Continue Reading Is your organization ready for the new EU General Data Protection Regulation?

The Trump transition team announced yesterday that Thomas Bossert was chosen for the role of the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.  In that position, Mr. Bossert will advise the President on issues related to cybersecurity, homeland security and counterterrorism, and also coordinate the process for creating and executing relevant policies, the

shutterstock_196544378China has finalized a broad new Cyber Security Law, its first comprehensive data privacy and security regulation.  It addresses specific privacy rights previously adopted in the European Union and elsewhere such as access, data retention, breach notification, mobile privacy, online fraud and protection of minors.

There is plenty in the new law to irritate international businesses operating in China.  It requires in general that Chinese citizens’ data be stored only in China, for starters, possibly requiring global corporations to maintain separate IT systems for Chinese data.  Most of the privacy enhancements benefiting citizens align with those required in the European Union, but it is unclear how the Chinese will expect compliance, particularly since, as with many Chinese laws, its language is vague as to its scope, application and details.  This vagueness leaves interpretation to the State Council, the chief administrative authority in China, headed by Premier Li Keqiang.

The law expands Chinese authorities’ power to investigate even within a corporation’s Chinese data systems, and provides for draconian penalties for non-compliance by business entities or responsible individuals  include warnings, rectification orders, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, suspension of business operations or the revocation of the entity’s business license.
Continue Reading China Finalizes New Cyber Security Law

WebinarDo you and your firm have adequate cybersecurity to prevent yourself (and your confidential client data) from getting hacked?

On Wednesday, December 7, at 11:00 a.m. Pacific, Richard Lutkus, a partner in Seyfarth Shaw’s eDiscovery and Information Governance Practice; and Joseph Martinez, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Forensics, eDiscovery & Information Security

We have all heard this before, but just how bad things really are? According to Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report (“DBIR”), insider and privilege misuse was once again one of the leading causes of incidents and breaches in 2015, accounting for 10,489 total incidents, 172 with confirmed data disclosure. Some of this misuse is perpetrated by malicious actors driven by motivation of financial gain and some of it is due to actions of well-meaning employees who either lacked cybersecurity awareness or simply made a mistake.

While there are no perfect answers for addressing the multitude of possible insider attacks, which can range from privilege abuse, to data mishandling, to the use of unapproved hardware, software, and workarounds, to email misuse, implementing the steps below can go a long way in reducing the risks.

Five Steps to Reduce Insider MisuseContinue Reading Employers, Your Worst Cybersecurity Threat May Already Be on Your Payroll