Cybersecurity & Privacy

Expert Analysis

• Anti-Ransomware Strategies Must Evolve With Threat

  

  With a recent FBI report warning of ransomware that encrypts and exfiltrates data, it is now more important than ever for businesses and governments to assess and implement prevention and preparation strategies, including an offensive litigation approach, says John Gray of Lewis Roca.

• NY State Flexes Muscles With Energy Service Co. Restrictions

  

  The New York State Public Service Commission's new regulations for energy service companies — imposing enhanced eligibility criteria, price caps, and limitations on products and services — raise concerns about how the commission might impose similar restrictions in the broader distributed energy resource markets, say Thomas Puchner and Kevin Blake of Phillips Lytle.

• How Associate Life Has Evolved Over The Past Decade

  

  During the last 10 years, the need to embrace change was fundamental for law firms, and that change affected associates in many ways — most, but not all, for the better, says Brad Kaufman, co-president of Greenberg Traurig.

• The New Class Action Frontier Under Illinois Privacy Law

  

  One year after a pivotal Illinois Supreme Court ruling broadened liability under the Biometric Information Privacy Act, companies in a wide variety of industries need to be vigilant of a rise in potentially financially ruinous class action filings, and there are several steps they can take to protect themselves from BIPA liability, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• What's Changed And What's The Same In Final CFIUS Rules

  

  The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rules implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act complete the revamp of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which will be more complex and better resourced to address evolving national security risks that arise in the context of foreign investments, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• Energy Cos. Face China State Secrecy Law Risks

  

  Multinational energy and natural resources companies doing business in China face particular risks related to China's state secrecy laws, due to the broad and vaguely defined range of information that may be classified as secret, say Alvin Xiao and Fabian Roday of Fangda Partners.

• Autonomous Vehicle Guidance Gives Industry Room To Grow

  

  The White House's recently updated guidance on the deployment of autonomous vehicles outlines broad principles for AV development, but does not identify best practices or create binding requirements, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• 2019 Trends In DOJ Civil Health Care Fraud Cases

  

  Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice maintained aggressive enforcement efforts in the health care industry, again relying heavily on the False Claims Act, but the agency is also taking steps to guide those efforts toward fairness and consistency, say attorneys at Mintz.

• Breaking Down Brazil's 1st Data Protection Law

  

  Brazil's General Law on Data Protection, which comes into effect later this year, is largely modeled on the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation but has some key differences that companies doing business in Brazil should keep in mind when formulating compliance plans, say Felipe Saraiva and Dean Forbes of Sidley.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Dyk Reviews 'Democracy And Equality'

  

  In their new book "Democracy and Equality: The Enduring Constitutional Vision of the Warren Court," Geoffrey Stone and David Strauss provide valuable context for U.S. Supreme Court decisions under Chief Justice Earl Warren that have profoundly affected the country, but their overly protective attitude sometimes obscures reality, says Federal Circuit Judge Timothy Dyk.

• Defense Contracting Law Developments From 2019

  

  Creation of the U.S. Space Force, initiatives to improve U.S. cybersecurity, and near record-high spending on government contracting were just a few of the most notable developments in U.S. Department of Defense contracting last year, says Joseph Berger of Thompson Hine.

• 7 Insider Tips For Working With In-House Counsel

  

  For outside firms wondering how to best support busy in-house lawyers, several practices can help navigate critical legal issues and novel business challenges while strengthening the working relationship, says Virginia Hudson, associate general counsel at Capital One.

• 50 Years Later, Interpretive Challenges Remain For RICO

  

  In the 50 years since the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was passed, courts' attempts to clarify the statute have had some success, but many interpretive dilemmas remain unresolved, says Randy Gordon of Barnes & Thornburg.

• Ransomware’s Year-End Thank You Note To Bitcoin

  

  Last year's surge in ransomware attacks got a boost from Bitcoin, which helped cybercriminals carry out their extortion schemes with much greater ease, efficiency and speed, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.

• Health Care AI Increasingly In Crosshairs Of State, Fed. Gov't

  

  Given the recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services into Google and Ascension's Project Nightingale, and an investigation by the New York Department of Health into UnitedHealth Group's hospital care algorithm, companies in the HealthTech space should prepare for growing scrutiny, especially of partnerships, say attorneys at Debevoise.