Speaking of security education and training, the National Cybersecurity Center this week launched a new initiative to offer cyber-hygiene and IT security sessions to elected state government officials and their staff for FREE. The training sessions are getting a financial boost from Google and bipartisan support from Secretaries of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) and
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Canon Hit with Data Breach Class Action Suit by Former and Current Employees
Canon U.S.A. Inc. (Canon) was hit with a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York this week for the ransomware attack that exposed current and former employees’ personal information in November 2020. The plaintiffs reside in Ohio, New York, Florida and Illinois, and allege that Canon was…
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…
States Legislate Cybersecurity Requirements for Insurance Companies
Following in the footsteps of the New York Department of Financial Regulation (NYDFS) in enacting cybersecurity requirements for the financial services industry, and in response to massive data breaches in the insurance industry, a wave of states have either enacted or are pursuing legislation aimed at regulating the cybersecurity measures of insurance companies.
In 2017,…
No Breach, No Standing
A federal judge recently held that mere allegations that a healthcare provider’s patient information portal failed to utilize sufficient security measures, without allegations of an actual breach, were insufficient to confer standing on the plaintiff. The case, Williams-Diggins v. Mercy Health—which was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
State and Local Governments Test Blockchain Applications
Proponents of blockchain technology, the distributed ledger system underlying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, view the technology’s applications as potentially offering significant efficiencies to the provision of government services. Two pilot projects currently underway are geared toward exploring the technology’s potential in two key areas of services provided by state and local governments: real property recording…
Tethered Drone Operator’s Part 107 Waiver Granted by FAA
A Columbus, Ohio based company, CivitasNow, has just become the second company ever (CNN was the first) to be granted a Part 107 waiver to fly drones over people by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA gave the company approval to allow its Aerotain Skye drone to operate over unsheltered people on…
UPS Tests Drones for Autonomous Package Delivery
On February 20, 2017, UPS and Workhorse Group, an Ohio-based battery-electric truck and drone developer, successfully conducted a test that launched a drone from the top of a UPS truck, which then autonomously delivered a package to a home in Lithia, Florida, and returned to the vehicle –as the UPS truck driver continued along his…
FTC and Ten States Settle with Caribbean Cruise Lines for Robocall Accusations
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ten states settled charges against the Florida-based cruise line, Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc. (CCL), for an illegal telemarking campaign that inundated consumers with billions of unwanted robocalls. In settling these charges, CCL’s owner, Fred Accuardi, and all of his companies are barred from robocalling and illegal telemarketing.…
Extra, Extra, Read All About it, News-Gathering Drones Increasingly Hitting the Skies
Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started allowing commercial drone operations, media organizations have moved quickly to get their own news-gathering drones in the skies. Recently, Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair) (operator of 173 television stations across the U.S.) announced that it was going “all in” on its news-gathering drone fleet. Sinclair plans to have 80…