On Friday, August 22 the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Secret Service released an advisory warning that a family of malware known as “Backoff” may have infiltrated the Point of Sale (“PoS”) systems of over 1,000 U.S. businesses. The malware was injected into some systems as far as back as October 2013, and DHS warns […]
CDD Urges FTC to Investigate 30 Companies for Alleged Safe Harbor Violations
The Center for Digital Democracy (“CDD”), a private consumer privacy advocate, recently filed a complaint and “request for investigation” before the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) accusing 30 U.S. companies of violating provisions of the Safe Harbor framework. The 118-page complaint, filed August 14th, urges the FTC to take legal action against the companies, including Adobe […]
FTC Issues Study on Mobile Shopping Apps Reviewing Pre-download Disclosures
On August 1, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a study called “What’s the Deal? An FTC Study on Mobile Shopping Apps,” with recommendations concerning pre-download disclosures. FTC staff surveyed and reviewed 121 mobile shopping apps that fell into three categories: price comparison apps, deal apps, and in-store purchase apps. FTC staff focused their […]
Agenda Released for FTC’s September Big Data Workshop
The Federal Trade Commission recently released an initial program for the agency’s latest data privacy workshop, “Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?” The workshop will consist of four panel discussions and is scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. on September 15, 2014 at the Constitution Center, located at 400 7th St SW, […]
PCI Security Standards Council Publishes Third-Party Security Assurance Guidance
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI-SSC) today released recommendations for meeting the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) when sharing cardholder data with third party service providers. PCI-DSS requires a merchant or other entity in entrusted with cardholder data to ensure that cardholder data continues to be protected when it is provided to a […]