3/10/21
By: John Ghose
State-sponsored hackers have accessed the Microsoft email environments of an estimated 30,000 U.S. organizations – including many small and medium-sized companies, universities, and government agencies. This hack is nearly twice the size of the recent SolarWinds hack, …
Massive Unemployment Fraud Brings Some Taxpayers Another Nasty Pandemic Surprise
3/9/21
By: Barry Miller
Last spring FMG reported that the pandemic was making accountants attractive targets for hackers. Extended tax deadlines and stimulus checks keyed to tax information created the incentive for fraud. This year, Krebs on Security warns that “…
Cyber Insurance and the COVID-19 Pandemic
3/5/21
By: Matthew Jones
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, various professions have changed their policies on working remotely. When the initial lockdown and quarantine process began, some companies were forced to begin working remotely to stay afloat. And even now …
Eleventh Circuit Denies Article III Standing Based on Future Harm from Data Breach
2/26/21
By: Matt Foree
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that future harm from a data breach does not provide Article III standing to a plaintiff. By doing so, the Eleventh Circuit weighed in on the …
1/27/21
By: Justin Boron and Courtney Mazzio
The eye that retail businesses must thread to avoid data breach class actions just got a little narrower in Pennsylvania.
In a decision issued this month in In re Rutter’s Data Sec. Breach Litig.…
Supreme Court Hears TCPA Case on Autodialer Definition
1/22/21
By: Matthew Foree
The Supreme Court of the United States recently heard an important Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) case concerning the statutory definition of “automatic telephone dialing system” (“ATDS”). Whether a person used an ATDS can be a basis for …
Sometimes You Really Can See It Coming
1/7/21
By: Barry Miller
A woman charged with bilking the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (“Department”) of more than $240,000 went to work for the Department in April after getting out of prison—having served her time for identity fraud.
Federal officials …
12/16/20
By: Isis Miranda
Cyber spies have targeted pharmaceutical companies and universities working to develop a Covid-19 vaccine in attempts to steal trade secret information. These sophisticated hacking groups have recently added new targets – organizations expected to distribute the vaccines, …
Car Dealerships Settle Costly TCPA Text Marketing Class Action
11/19/20
By: Matthew Foree
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma recently granted final approval of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class action settlement involving several automobile dealerships. The case is King v. Classic Chevrolet, …
$1 Million Settlement for HIPAA Violations is Cautionary Tale
11/2/20
By: Amy Bender
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced that insurance giant Aetna will pay $1,000,000 to settle HIPAA violations stemming from the following three disclosures of nearly 19,000 plan members’ protected …
Central Bank Digital Currency: Oxymoron or Near Reality?
10/22/20
By: Peter Dooley
In a sharp change of course and softening of rhetoric, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a speech on Monday, October 19th at the International Monetary Fund’s Annual Meeting in which he left the door open to …
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Class Action Representative’s Incentive Award
10/12/20
By: Matthew Foree
The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently confronted the issue of incentive awards commonly given to class representatives as part of class-wide settlements. The court held in Johnson v. NPAS Sols., LLC, which can be …