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
Virginia
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…
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…
Successful Flight, Boeing’s Autonomous Passenger Aircraft
Last week, Boeing completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger aircraft prototype in Manassas, Virginia. The prototype is 30-feet long and 28-feet wide, powered by an electric propulsion system with a flight range of about 50 miles. The flight was successful, completing a controlled takeoff, hover and landing. Boeing hopes to test 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…
HHS Issues Limited Waiver Following Hurricane Florence
As Hurricane Florence was making landfall, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar issued HIPAA guidance that outlined when hospitals in declared state of emergency areas can qualify for a waiver of certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, including fines and penalties.
According to the guidance, “the HIPAA Privacy Rule allows patient…
New Milestone in U.S. Drone Delivery
Last week, in Blacksburg, Virginia, two-year old, Jack Smith—made history. Only six minutes after a technician from Alphabet Inc.’s Wing clicked the “Confirm Order” button on a smartphone app, a drone operated by the company flew from a simulated store about a mile away, hovered over Jack’s lawn and lowered the popsicle he had ordered…
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…
Ten Drone Test Sites Expand States’ Regulatory Role
At test sites in 10 states –Alaska, California, Florida, Nevada, North Dakota, North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Tennessee – the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) granted local-backed drone projects special licenses to test new ways of flying. At these test sites, drone package delivery and nighttime flights will be conducted, which are typically prohibited…