The state of Virginia might be the next state to enact a privacy law. Senate Bill No. 1392 recently passed the Senate and is likely on its way to Governor Ralph Northam’s desk. The bill adds the Consumer Data Protection Act to the Virginia Code and includes definitions of biometric data, precise geolocation data, profiling,
GAO Says FAA Should Provide More Information to Industry Stakeholders on UTM
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced last week that it will be working with industry leaders and public stakeholders to develop a traffic management system for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones). UAS traffic management (UTM) requires a framework for systems to safely operate multiple UAS at once. The FAA wants to first establish operating…
VA Alerting 46,000 Veterans of Compromise
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Management (VA) has announced that it is notifying approximately 46,000 veterans that their personal information was compromised when hackers were able to access an online application that allowed them to divert payments designated for community health care organizations that provide medical care to veterans to the hackers’…
FAA Announces Certification of Commercial Package Delivery
We recently posted about the status of delivery by drone. Now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded the first air carrier certification to a drone delivery company, Wing Aviation. Wing Aviation will begin commercial package delivery in Blacksburg, Virginia.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao, said, “This is an important step forward…
Drone Pilot Arrested After Crash into New York City Building
Last week, a drone pilot was arrested for flying his drone into Barclays bank building during violent winds. Steve Funes operated his drone from the balcony of his 21st floor room at The Executive Plaza Hotel on West 51st Street. The crash occurred on nearby 7th Avenue. While the Barclays bank building…
Virginia Bank, Hacked Twice with Phishing Schemes, Losing $2.4 Million
In a lawsuit against its insurance company requesting reimbursement for close to $2.4 million from two different hacking incidents, National Bank of Blacksburg detailed the intrusions, which are instructive of a sophisticated scheme against the financial services industry.
According to the lawsuit, the first theft took place on Memorial Day weekend of 2016. In that…
Virginia Data Breach Law Amended to Include Income Tax Preparers
We have frequently reported about how devastating and widespread tax fraud is in the U.S.—in the past affecting hundreds of thousands of U.S. taxpayers [view related privacy tip]. Income tax preparers are at risk for cyber intrusions because they hold highly sensitive personal information of their clients, which can be used by criminals to…
Virginia Opens the First UAS-Dedicated Runway
Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, recently cut the ribbon on a new runway in Virginia dedicated solely to unmanned aerial systems (UAS or drones). The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s UAS Airfield is a 3,000-foot runway for UAS (of course, also capable of accommodating larger aerial vehicles, too), and is the first of its kind. After the…
Connecticut State Police Lead the Way in Training Electronic Storage Device Dogs
The Connecticut State Police have taken the lead in training police dogs skilled in the art of detecting hidden data. As more and more crimes involve electronic evidence, criminal enforcement agencies throughout the country are recognizing the need to find that evidence quickly. Data detecting dogs help do this by sniffing out chemicals associated with…
VA OIG reports patient data at risk with vendor
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General recently issued a report, following a complaint that the VA Palo Alto Health Care System put veterans’ health information at risk when it allowed personnel of a vendor to have access to VA patient information without appropriate background investigations or appropriate privacy and security awareness…