Are you storing sensitive data on a shared network drive? If so, your organization could be at serious risk of a data breach or privacy lawsuit. Shared drives, like the common “S:\ drive,” are often used to store documents, spreadsheets, customer information, financial records, and even scanned IDs. But here’s the problem: these network shares
data breaches
MGM Inks $45M Class Action Settlement for 2019 and 2023 Data Breaches
MGM Resorts agreed to pay $45 million to settle over a dozen class action lawsuits concerning 2019 and 2023 data breaches. A federal court in Nevada preliminarily approved the settlement, which, according to lawyers, covers over 37 million MGM customers.
The 2019 incident occurred when millions of customers’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, and other personal…
Precious-Metal Refiner Hit with Data Breach Class Action over 2023 Cyber-Attack
Elemetal LLC faces a data breach class action resulting from its alleged failure to implement appropriate security measures, which led to a 2023 breach of approximately 13,000 customers’ personal information. Elemetal is a precious-metal refiner based in Texas, operating in more than 45 locations in the U.S.
The subject breach occurred between August 22 and…
Marriott and Starwood Settle on Consent Agreement with FTC for Data Breaches
This week, Marriott International, Inc. and its subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide LLC (collectively, Marriott) agreed to settle on the terms of a settlement order with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its alleged failures to implement reasonable security measures which in turn led to three data breaches between 2014 and 2020, affecting over…
David’s Bridal Hit with Class Actions Over Two Data Breaches
This week, two class actions were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against David’s Bridal based on two data breaches. The actions allege that David’s Bridal failed to protect the personal information of employees and customers.
In January 2024, David’s Bridal suffered a ransomware attack instigated by ransomware group…
10 Essential Strategies for Successful Information Governance and Data Retention for Executives
Information governance and data retention have been important topics in the corporate world for years. As an executive, it’s crucial to ensure effective management, storage, and secure disposal of your company’s data. Having well-defined information governance and data retention policies helps maintain compliance with legal requirements and safeguards against data breaches and cyber-attacks. In this…
Privacy Tip #49 – Use a Passphrase Instead of a Password
I love to train employees on data privacy and security. It tends to be rather entertaining as I can tell crazy stories about real life scenarios about data breaches or compromises. The stories are quite beneficial, as most employees say “I would never do that!”
One of my favorite stories to tell, as it is…