In a momentous judgment, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) today invalidated the European Commission’s decision establishing the E.U.-US Safe Harbor for transfers of personal data (“Safe Harbor Decision”). The ruling was made with record dispatch, following on an Advocate General Opinion recommending invalidation that was delivered to the Court only two weeks ago. Facts […]
Financial Privacy
PCI Security Standards Council Publishes Data Breach Response Guidance
The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI-SSC) has released new guidance on its website advising merchants how to deal with a data breach. The guidance particularly details when a PCI Forensic Investigator (PFI) will be required, and provides tips on making the PFI process go smoothly. The PCI-SSC states that “preparing for the worst is the […]
Swire Challenges Factual Basis of Schrems Decision
In an article published today, Senior Counsel Peter Swire challenges the factual basis for the Advocate General’s recent opinion in the so-called “Schrems case” against the E.U.-U.S. Safe Harbor framework. Thousands of U.S. businesses rely on the Safe Harbor framework in order to support the transfer of data from the European Union. As previously discussed […]
FFIEC Issues Optional Cybersecurity Assessment Tool
On June 30, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued an optional Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (Assessment) for banking institutions (“institution”) to use to evaluate risks and cybersecurity maturity (i.e., level of preparedness). OCC also announced that it would “gradually incorporate the […]
Virginia Becomes First State To Mandate Advanced Credit Card Security for State Agencies
On May 5, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed Executive Directive 5 (2015), which requires the state’s technology and finance secretaries, treasurer and comptroller to update Virginia’s main purchasing card program to include advanced chip-and-pin technology by December. The Directive notes that many of Virginia’s political subdivisions and authorities have already converted purchase card programs to […]