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Meta has been hit with two related lawsuits totaling over $150 billion in its first major legal challenge since rebranding. The suits (one filed in California Superior Court and the other in the UK) come from a class representing the Rohingya, a minority Muslim population that has suffered severe systematic violence in Myanmar.…
Ancestry.com Sued in Class Action for Using Data from Year Books
By Linn Foster Freedman on December 3, 2020
Ancestry.com (Ancestry) was sued on November 30, 2020, in a putative class action case filed in the Northern District of California for “knowingly misappropriating the photographs, likenesses, names, and identities of Plaintiff and the class; knowingly using those photographs, likenesses, names, and identities for the commercial purpose of selling access to them in Ancestry products…
Cognizant Confirms Maze Ransomware Attack
By Linn Foster Freedman on April 22, 2020
The criminals behind the Maze ransomware [view recent related posts here and here] have gone big and hit Cognizant, one of the largest technology consulting companies in the U.S., with its nasty ransomware.
Cognizant stated on its website that it “can confirm that a security incident involving our internal systems, and causing service disruptions…
China-Based Company is Believed to be Behind HiddenWasp Malware
By Linn Foster Freedman on June 6, 2019
Vicious malware continues to be deployed by China-based attackers. A new strain of malware, dubbed “HiddenWasp,” which has the ability to remotely infect computers, has been discovered by a security researcher at Intezar. The malware is believed to have originated from a Chinese forensics firm; the malware is hosted by servers owned by a Hong…
OIG Issues Alert to Warn of ‘Free’ Genetic Testing Scams Seeking to Steal Information
By Conor Duffy on June 4, 2019
Posted in Data Privacy, Health Information Privacy, Uncategorized
On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a fraud alert to notify consumers about genetic testing fraud schemes (the Alert). According to the OIG, fraudulent actors are using the provision of free genetic testing kits to obtain Medicare information from unwitting consumers, and…
NIST Issues Blockchain Technology Report to Help Businesses “Make Good Decisions” About Using Blockchain
By Linn Foster Freedman on January 25, 2018
Posted in Cybersecurity, Uncategorized
On January 24, 2018, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued its “Draft NIST Interagency Report 8202 Blockchain Technology Overview” which it announced as NIST’s “Report on Blockchain Technology Aims to Go Beyond the Hype.” The press release announcing the issuance of the report starts by stating “Beguiling, baffling or both—that’s…
Google Tracking of Android Users Goes Beyond the Expected
By Sean Lawless on January 24, 2018
Posted in Cybersecurity, Uncategorized
By now most smartphone users are aware of location tracking used by both Apple and Android operating systems.  Basic location tracking is a system which uses GPS data to know the phone user’s location.  However, according to a recent article published by Quartz, Google’s data collection goes far beyond basic location tracking.  Not only does the data collected go beyond simple location information, but the ‘Opt In’ service Google uses to collect that data, Location History, isn’t as truly Opt In as users might expect.  According to Quartz, Google’s Location History underlies many of Android’s main apps, including Google Assistant and Google Maps.  Furthermore, Opting In to Location History for one app may actually give many apps access to Location History’s data and the ability to send that data to Google.
Continue Reading Google Tracking of Android Users Goes Beyond the Expected
Lessons Learned from Recent OCR HIPAA Audits
By Virginia McGarrity & Robinson+Cole's Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Team on January 9, 2018
Posted in HIPAA and Health Information, Uncategorized
Covered entities, including employer sponsored health plans, should brace for audits and enforcement of the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification rules by the Department of Health & Human Service Office of Civil Rights (OCR) following OCR’s recent announcement of a large HIPAA settlement last month on the heels of its release of the preliminary results…
Stored Communications Act Does Not Prohibit Disclosure of Deceased’s Yahoo Account
By Linn Foster Freedman on October 19, 2017
In what appears to be a case of first impression in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has ruled that Yahoo may disclose the contents of a deceased’s Yahoo email account to his personal representatives and is not precluded from doing so by the Stored Communications Act (SCA).
The subscriber passed away…
Murder Arrest Warrant Weaves Web of Data Evidence in – Fitbit, Facebook, Alarm Systems and More
By Kelly Sweeney on June 14, 2017
The warrant that led to the arrest of a husband for the alleged murder of his wife weaves a web of electronic evidence. Based in large part on Fitbit fitness tracker data, Connecticut authorities have charged Richard Dabate with the murder of his wife, Connie. He also faces charges of tampering with evidence and making…
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Robinson+Cole is a law firm serving regional, national and global clients from nine offices throughout the Northeast. Our Data Privacy + Security Team brings together lawyers from the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology, Commercial Litigation, and E-Commerce Groups.
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