The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts is warning small businesses that received loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of a dramatic increase in reports of business email-compromise schemes related to the program. Scammers are using information about PPP recipients posted by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to impersonate PPP lenders requesting
Massachusetts
Update on the Massachusetts Right to Repair Lawsuit
As I wrote about previously on our blog, the Massachusetts Right to Repair amendment passed in November is up against a lawsuit from auto manufacturers. Now, the Massachusetts’ Attorney General’s office has responded stating that the state law does not conflict with any federal statute and that voters already rejected all of the lawsuits allegations.…
Massachusetts Ballot Question 1 Still on the Forefront as Automakers Sue to Block its Implementation
A group of automakers through the Alliance for Automotive Innovation is suing Massachusetts in federal court to block the new ‘Right to Repair’ law that passed on November 3rd. This law was known as “Question 1” to Massachusetts residents hitting the polls earlier this month. As we discussed in our prior blog post, the…
Election Results: New Data Privacy and Security Laws
Although the Presidential race is unconfirmed at the time of this writing, there are several data privacy and security laws to put on your radar following the election this week.
Here is a brief list of laws that passed that we are aware of so far. We will provide more information as news breaks, but…
A Deeper Dive into the Privacy + Cybersecurity Concerns about Massachusetts’ Ballot Question 1
I previously wrote about a ballot question in Massachusetts this year that would update the “Right to Repair” initiative that was first passed in 2013. As a quick refresher, the Right to Repair law allows consumers to take their car to any repair shop (not just the dealer) and have their mechanic plug a cord…
Massachusetts Ballot Question Poses Privacy Concerns
Ballot Question 1 in Massachusetts, if passed in November, would require car manufacturers that sell cars equipped with telematics systems (i.e., a method of monitoring a vehicle by combining a GPS system with on-board diagnostics to record – and map – exactly where a car is and how fast it’s traveling, etc.) to install a…
On the Border Restaurant Suffers Data Breach
Last week, the Tex-Mex restaurant chain On the Border suffered a data breach that impacted its payment acceptance systems in 27 states. The restaurant says that some credit card information of customers who visited the chain between April and August 2019 may have been compromised. In a press release, On the Border representatives said, “Our…
Introducing the New York SHIELD Act
The New York “Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act” (SHIELD Act), N.Y. Gen Bus. Law§ 899-bb, requires businesses that collect private information on New York residents to implement reasonable cybersecurity safeguards to protect that information. While this is a new law in the State of New York, it is simply joining other states,…
New Hampshire Enacts Insurance Data Security Law
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu recently signed the New Hampshire Insurance Data Security Law, which “establishes the exclusive state standards applicable to licensees for data security, the investigation of a cybersecurity event…, and notification to the commissioner.” The law is applicable to all persons or entities licensed, authorized to operate, registered or required to be…
Cities Consider Banning the Use of Facial Recognition Technology
In the footsteps of San Francisco’s ban of the use of facial recognition technology, the cities of Somerville, Massachusetts, Oakland, California, and Berkeley, California are considering banning the use of facial recognition technology by municipal agencies. The proposed ban is in the midst of more and more cameras and smart technology being used for traffic…