Following the creation of the DOJ’s Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force in April 2021 and on the heels of the Biden administration’s characterization of ransomware as a national security threat, on June 7, 2021, the DOJ announced it has seized $2.3 million (63.7 bitcoin) in proceeds from a recent ransom paid to DarkSide in […]
NYDFS Issues Report on the SolarWinds Attack and Covered Entities’ Responses
Following the SolarWinds cyber espionage attack (the “Attack”) and the resulting focus on supply chain risk, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued a report detailing the impact on and responses by its regulated covered entities to the Attack. Although there have been no reported instances of active exploitation of DFS-regulated companies […]
U.S. Takes Unprecedented Action to Disrupt State-Sponsored Exploitation of Microsoft Exchange Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
On April 13, 2021, a federal district court granted a motion to partially unseal an FBI application and search warrant following the successful conclusion of an FBI operation to eradicate malicious web shells placed on U.S.-based computers by Chinese state-sponsored actors. The FBI’s use of credentialed, remote access techniques to access, copy, and remove malware […]
NYDFS Issues Best Practices for Cyber Insurance Risk Management
Against the backdrop of the disruptions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and SolarWinds cyber-espionage campaign, NYDFS has released guidance for insurers that underwrite cyber insurance policies and which contains a number of provisions expected to impact companies applying for or renewing cyber insurance coverage, not the least of which is a specific recommendation that insurers […]
Fifth Circuit Decision Raises Cyber Enforcement Complications for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
As the Biden administration begins detailing its regulatory and enforcement priorities, it faces a new challenge on the health data privacy and security front. In University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, No. 19-60226 (5th Cir. 2021), the Fifth Circuit vacated a $4.3 million penalty against […]