Wire transfer fraud cyberattacks: they cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars each year, but you can take action to minimize your risk. In this episode of the Faegre Drinker on Law and Technology Podcast, host Jason G. Weiss talks with intellectual property Partner Ken Dort about this cyber threat also known as business email compromise attacks. They discuss how wire fraud happens, who’s at risk for these attacks, and the complicated process of recovering losses after hackers hit an organization. Jason and Ken also talk through the steps businesses can take now to reduce their risk of wire fraud down the road.
Author: Ken Dort
Ken Dort is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property group. Read Ken's full bio on the Faegre Drinker website.
Capping Cyber Casualties: Steps to Avoid Cyberattacks Flowing From Hostilities in Ukraine
Recognizing that cyberattacks have already commenced and could spread beyond the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, organizations can take several steps to protect themselves. They can recognize the risk. Then organizations can assess likely cyber threats and vulnerabilities, build resilience and take preventive actions, to avoid becoming another casualty in a conflict that already has too many.
Ransomware Payments May Violate Sanctions Laws, U.S. Treasury Department Warns
Ransomware attacks are on the rise in the wake of COVID-19, but attack victims — and third parties who assist them — could unknowingly be in violation of federal law. A new advisory from the U.S. Department of the Treasury warns that ransom payments to sanctioned individuals or entities may result in significant criminal or civil liability. Companies should closely review the details of this advisory to minimize the risk of violating the U.S. sanctions laws if they are victimized by a ransomware attack.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
A.G. Schneiderman Announces SHIELD Act to Protect New Yorkers
The Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act) was introduced in the New York legislature in early November and would amend New York’s state breach notification law. The bill was announced after the release of a New York Office of the Attorney General report found a nearly 60% hike in data breaches affecting state residents in 2016 and following the Equifax breach in September, which A.G. Schneiderman is investigating.
Among other things, the SHIELD Act would:
- Require reasonable security for private information, using standards tailored to the size of the business, while avoiding duplicate regulations and providing incentive to businesses that certify security compliance and provides clear examples of safeguards (e.g., technical, administrative, and physical measures).
- Carve out “compliant regulated entities,” which are defined as those already regulated by, and compliant with, existing or future regulations of any federal or NYS government entity (including NYS DFS cybersecurity regulations; regulations under Gramm-Leach-Bliley; HIPAA regulations) by deeming them compliant with this law’s reasonable security requirement.
- Provide safe harbor from AG enforcement actions under this law for “certified compliant entities,” (those with independent certification of compliance with aforementioned government data security regulations, or with ISO/NIST standards).
- Provide a more flexible standard for small business (less than 50 employees and under $3 million in gross revenue; or less than $5 million in assets): requiring reasonable safeguards “appropriate to the [small business’s] size and complexity.
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U.S. Government Restricts the Use of Kaspersky Cybersecurity Software
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a binding order restricting the government’s use of cybersecurity software developed by Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs.
Government departments and agencies have 90 days to remove or discontinue use of any Kaspersky Labs software products—but the buck doesn’t stop there. Kaspersky boasts more than 400 million users and 270,000 corporate clients, meaning organizations that provide any services involving federal information systems would be wise to investigate whether they, either directly or indirectly, use Kaspersky products and services. Continue reading “U.S. Government Restricts the Use of Kaspersky Cybersecurity Software”
White House Issues ATC Report and Seeks Comments on IT Implementation Plan
On August 30, the Trump administration unveiled an ambitious plan to upgrade the federal government’s cyberdefenses by shifting digital functions to the cloud and prioritizing security upgrades for the government’s most important systems. In this plan, which in many ways continues the cyberefforts of the Obama administration, the White House’s American Technology Council (ATC) justified this large-scale approach due to what it characterized as the federal government’s longstanding less-than-adequate cyberefforts in the face of years of mounting digital threats.
The plan, grounded in the President’s May 2017 Executive Order (EO) 13,800, tasked the Director of the ATC to coordinate the preparation of a report to the President from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce (Commerce), regarding the modernization of Federal Information Technology (IT). In accordance with EO 13,800, a draft IT Modernization report was submitted to the President last week.
Continue reading “White House Issues ATC Report and Seeks Comments on IT Implementation Plan”