Over at Fierce IT Security, Professor Woodrow Hartzog and I have a new essay, 5 Things the FTC Should Do to Improve Data Security in the Wake of Wyndham. The piece discusses some enforcement strategies we believe the FTC should use to maximize its effectiveness in improving data security. Our suggestions include: Do more proactive […]
I am pleased to announce the launch of our new training program, Social Engineering: Spies and Sabotage. This course is a short module (~7 minutes long) that provides a general introduction to social engineering. After discussing several types of social engineering (phishing, baiting, pretexting, and tailgaiting), the course provides advice for avoiding these tricks and […]
A study recently revealed that nearly 25% of data breaches involve phishing, and it is the second most frequent data security threat companies face. Phishing is an enormous problem, and it is getting worse. In a staggering statistic, on average, a company with 10,000 employees will spend $3.7 million per year handling phishing attacks.
I recently received my copy of Social Dimensions of Privacy, edited by Beate Roessler & Dorota Mokrosinska. The book was published by Cambridge University Press this summer. I’m delighted as I look over this book. The book has a wonderful selection of short philosophical essays on privacy, and I’m honored to be included among the […]
by Daniel J. Solove The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit just affirmed the district court decision in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., No. 14-3514 (3rd. Cir. Aug. 24, 2015). The case involves a challenge by Wyndham to an Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement action emerging out of data breaches at the Wyndham. […]
Co-authored by Professor Woodrow Hartzog. Authentication presents one of the greatest security challenges organizations face. How do we accurately ensure that people seeking access to accounts or data are actually whom they say they are? People need to be able to access accounts and data conveniently, and access must often be provided remotely, without being […]
by Daniel J. Solove One of the most well-known classic privacy books is George Orwell’s 1984, and it has been published in countless editions around the world. I enjoy collecting things, and I’ve gathered up more than 50 book covers of various editions of the novel. I find it interesting how various artists and designers […]
by Daniel J. Solove I recently held a webinar about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for TRUSTe called Understanding the FTC on Privacy and Security. The webinar is free and is archived at TRUSTe’s site. Here is a brief synopsis of the webinar: For the past nearly two decades, the FTC has risen to […]
by Daniel J. Solove Recently, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) publicized its resolution agreement in its HIPAA enforcement action against St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (SEMC). SEMC agreed to pay $218,000. The case began with a complaint filed with OCR back in 2012 that employees […]
by Daniel J. Solove Recently, I wrote about the challenges in accessing health information about family members. In this post, I will explore patients’ access to their own medical records. HIPAA doesn’t handle patient access to medical records very well. There are many misunderstandings about patient access under HIPAA that make it quite difficult for […]