The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced two high-dollar False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement actions involving allegedly fraudulent arrangements tied to the implementation and use of electronic health record systems (EHRs). The respective settlements enable recovery by DOJ of over $100 million, and immediately precede the government’s recent proposal of new rules to promote the … Continue Reading
Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen M. Nielsen, wrote in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been worrying about the dangers of drones for years; so much so, that DHS has sought legal authority in the past (and continues to do so) to protect the U.S. and … Continue Reading
On April 30, 2018, a Massachusetts physician was convicted of a criminal violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as well as one count of obstruction of a criminal health care investigation, in a Massachusetts federal court. The convictions relate to the purported sharing of confidential patient information by the … Continue Reading
Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received recommendations regarding remote identification of drones in a report from the unmanned aircraft Identification and Tracking (UAS ID) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). One of the topics at issue: whether we need remote identification (ID) of all drones in the national airspace. Beyond the FAA, the Department of … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it is forming a Cyber-Digital Task Force that will combat global cyber threats. The Task Force will concentrate on gathering the methods that the DOJ uses to fight cyber threats and figure out ways law enforcement can combat the problem, starting with what efforts are being used … Continue Reading
Where does the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) turn when it needs business enterprise data stored on the cloud for a criminal investigation? According to a recent DOJ memo, the default rule is now turn to the business enterprise first and the cloud only if necessary: “prosecutors should seek data directly from the enterprise, if … Continue Reading
In an order issued on October 16, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Microsoft Corporation, a case with potentially far-reaching implications for the privacy of electronic data maintained by technology companies across the globe. The case, which Robinson+Cole has previously discussed here, here, and here, arises from a warrant obtained … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court recently indicated that it will consider the federal government’s petition for a writ of certiorari in United States v. Microsoft Corp. at its conference scheduled for October 6, 2017. United States v. Microsoft is a “cutting edge” case that concerns the ability of law enforcement to obtain electronic documents stored abroad … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Any person who believes that a covered entity or business associate is not complying with HIPAA may file a complaint with OCR (complaints may also be submitted directly to a covered entity). … Continue Reading
This morning, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an initiative aimed at “examining and strengthening forensic science.” Presumably, the initiative will impact how the DOJ approaches digital forensic evidence in criminal prosecutions. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein made the announcement at the International Association for Identification’s (IAI) conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The IAI … Continue Reading
On June 23, 2017, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court requesting reversal of a 2016 decision in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit quashed a warrant obtained by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Stored … Continue Reading
While drone delivery services are certainly on the agendas of large retailers like Amazon, inmates in jails across the U.S. are already using drones to receive their own aerial contraband shipments. Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that there have been many attempts over the past five … Continue Reading
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) withdrew their May 13, 2016 “Dear Colleague” letter that provided guidance on steps to protect transgender students under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Although the … Continue Reading
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that a former contractor of a defense contractor has been indicted for stealing over 75 percent of hacking tools belonging to the Nations Security Agency’s offensive cyber unit, as well as the ICA and Cyber Command. According to the indictment, Harold T. Martin has been charged … Continue Reading
On January 24, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the Department of Justice’s request for an en banc rehearing in In the Matter of a Warrant to Search a Certain Email Account Controlled and Maintained by Microsoft Corp. a/k/a Microsoft Corp. v. United States (No. 14-2985). The denial leaves in place … Continue Reading
Although every year we lament about the significance of data breaches in the past year, 2016 was by far the worst. Data breaches were rampant, victimizing every industry and numbing consumers in the process. It was so bad that consumers began to throw up their hands and say “My personal information is out there anyway. … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday announced that it has charged a Maryland man, Harold Thomas Martin III with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials by a government employee or contractor. According to the criminal complaint against Martin that was unsealed yesterday, Martin was a contractor with the federal … Continue Reading
Last week, the White House issued a new directive that outlines how the government handles significant cyber incidents, which gives the public information on which agency to call in the event of a cyber incident. We often get asked, “Who do we call—the FBI, Secret Service, DOJ, etc.?” The directive outlines what incidents are considered … Continue Reading
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register moving to exempt the FBI’s biometrics database from the notice and consent provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act). The Privacy Act governs the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of personally identifiable information (PII) that … Continue Reading
The filing of fraudulent tax returns continues to be a serious problem in this country. Last year alone, the IRS has admitted that up to 720,000 taxpayers were victims. Last week, a Georgia couple pled guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns by using the IRS’ “Get Transcript” site. The couple used the personal information (including … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice has announced that two hackers who built and sold the Trojan called SpyEye, that caused close to $1 billion in banking losses, have been sentenced for a combined 24 1/2 years in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia. According to evidence presented in Court, provided by the able investigation of the FBI, … Continue Reading
The FBI and DOJ continue their effort to bring cyber hackers to justice. Last week, Chinese national Su Bin pled guilty to stealing data related to Boeing’s C-17 military cargo plane and of trying to steal information related to U.S. F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. Bin was indicted, along with other co-conspirators, in August 2014 … Continue Reading
Just a week after we reported [view related post] that the FBI warned international law firms that they are targets for cyber hackings, multiple (reportedly up to 50) BigLaw firms have confirmed that they have been victims of hackings and intrusions. Further attempts are expected. The FBI and Department of Justice have reportedly opened an … Continue Reading
Boasting on a Twitter account, a hacker has claimed that he accessed over 9,000 Department of Homeland Security employees’ demographic information, including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and titles. The hacker claims that he obtained access to 1TB of data directly from the Department of Justice. The hacker explained that he gained access to a … Continue Reading
