The recent cases of FTC v. Wyndham and In Re TerraComm and YourTel America, we have seen that federal government agencies are pursuing companies who have negligent cybersecurity standards — and the government is winning. In fact, the government need not point to specific statutory violations to win these cybersecurity cases …

In light of the rulings in FTC v Wyndham and In Re TerraCom and YourTel, it is evident that government agencies are taking the position that they can pursue “common law” cyber security negligence claims rather than relying on standards set by regulation or statute.  At least some of these …

The Department of Defense has issued an Interim Rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The specific focus is on new rules  which require contractor reporting on network penetrations. Additionally, this Rule implements DoD policy on the purchase of cloud computing services. The Interim Rule is here. According to …

The National Institute for Standards and Technology issued a “draft” version of a Cybersecurity Practice Guide aimed at doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers. The 82-page Guide discusses how medical providers access patient data remotely and that “the use of mobile devices to store, access and transmit electronic health care …

The Second Circuit confirmed that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 USC 1030) and the Stored Communications Act (18 USC 2701) calculate the starting point of their two year statute of limitation differently.  If someone’s email and/or social media accounts are hacked, the statutory periods are calculated differently.  This …

What technology and apps should mediators use? Thanks to the Florida Dispute Resolution Center for inviting me to their 23rd annual conference in Orlando, Florida on July 30-31, 2015. Our session, Technology and Apps for Mediators, explained what technology you need to run an effective and profitable mediation office.  We …

The 11th Circuit has reversed a district court ruling and, instead, concluded that Florida’s “docs vs. glocks” law is constitutional.  This is a victory for gun proponents who voice concerns that inquiries from Florida doctors about gun ownership was an invasion of privacy. The case is Dr. Bernd Wollschlaefer et …

The Federal Reserve System issues periodic newsletters to highlight information that community banks may find helpful in order to comply with Federal Reserve policy. To that end, the Federal Reserve’s “Community Banking Connections” is supposed to be a “primary source for information on guidance, resources, and tools to help community …

One area where a person has a fairly wide latitude to allegedly defame someone is… in a court proceeding. Specifically, Florida recognizes a doctrine of absolute immunity for “defamatory words published in the course of a judicial proceeding, regardless of how false or malicious the statements may be, as long as …

.                 In the case of Baywood Nurseries Co., Inc. v. Florida Department of Health, Judge W. David Watkins rendered a massive 68-page Final Order finding that Baywood had standing but failed to meet its burden of proof. As stated in the Final …

      This article, from the Spring 2015 Trial Advocate Quarterly, discusses four (4) reported trial orders  and (3) appellate decisions on social media discovery from Florida. While the orders and opinions are not exactly harmonized, they can be interpreted in a way that counsel for parties seeking social media …

If you are like at least 39 million other people, you may have tuned into a podcast phenomenon called Serial which tracks back to the murder of a high school student in the late 1990s. Comprising 12 episodes, which is fewer than a season of Newsroom, the show was such …

Various federal agencies have been busy this Winter-Spring 2015 issuing various guidelines regarding data breach and cyber security: DOJ Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber Incidents (April 2015) – drafted “with smaller, less well-resourced organizations in mind…” Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (April 2015) …

In April 2015, the US National Archives explained at their NDCPrioritization: What Secrets Do People Want to See? conference how the release of the remaining JFK records will be accomplished. By way of background — that “background” being a cry primarily from FOIA fans and conspiracy types to free the …

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York has issued Opinion 2015-3 regarding, “Lawyers Who Fall Victim to Internet Scams.” The Opinion addresses the following: – If you get an email solicitation that appears to be fake, “the best approach is to ignore such solicitations altogether.”  A …