PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

The Stunning Need for Improvement on Mobile and Cloud Risks

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
July 29, 2013

Cloud and Mobile 02by Daniel J. Solove

A recent study by the Ponemon Institute, The Risk of Regulated Data on Mobile Devices and in the Cloud*, reveals a stunning need for improvement on managing the risks of mobile devices and cloud computing services. The survey involved 798 IT and IT security practitioners in a variety of organizations including finance, retail, technology, communications, education, healthcare, and public sector, among others. The results are quite startling.

The study concluded that “the greatest data protection risks to regulated data exist on mobile devices and the cloud.” 69% of respondents listed mobile devices as posing the greatest risk followed by 45% who listed cloud computing.

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Higher Education Needs Privacy Officers and Privacy/Security Training

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
July 9, 2013

Climbing Vines of Ivy

In 2007, Seung Cho, a student at Virginia Tech, killed 32 students and faculty and wounded 17. He then committed suicide.

One of the most troublesome things about this incident was that it might have been prevented if school officials and employees had a better grasp of privacy law. Appointed by the state governor, the Virginia Tech Review Panel issued an extensive report revealing that several University officials and employees knew about Cho’s mental instability but failed to share what they knew with each other. And nobody ever told Cho’s parents about his problems, his stalking of a female student, and his dark writings and erratic behavior. Cho’s parents said that if they had known, they would have taken him home and made him go to therapy. This is what they did when Cho had problems in high school.

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Why Learning the Humanities Is a Key to Success

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
June 25, 2013


A recent piece in the New York Times by Verlyn Klinkenborg discusses the withering of humanities in higher education: “The teaching of the humanities has fallen on hard times. So says a new report on the state of the humanities by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.” Students majoring in key humanities subjects are dwindling, and the article mentions rapidly fewer numbers of English majors. According to the article: “Undergraduates will tell you that they’re under pressure — from their parents, from the burden of debt they incur, from society at large — to choose majors they believe will lead as directly as possible to good jobs. Too often, that means skipping the humanities.”Continue Reading

New Privacy Training Programs: US, EU, and Global Privacy Law

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
May 29, 2013

by Daniel J. Solove

We have launched several new privacy training programs, including a series with brief introductions to privacy law.  We have completed a privacy training program about US Privacy Law with a video and interactive material / quiz questions.  And we just completed a training program about EU Privacy Law.  This program has a 7.5 minute video (as well as an abridged version at 4.5 minutes), and there’s a separate excerpt on the Safe Harbor Arrangement for those who only want to cover Safe Harbor in their training programs.

These programs are illustrated-as-I-talk.  You can preview the European Union Privacy Law video.

Coming soon: Global Privacy Law, which will focus heavily on the OECD Privacy Guidelines and  the APEC Privacy Framework.

European Union Privacy Training

 

 

New Financial Privacy Training Programs

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
May 29, 2013

by Daniel J. Solove

We have begun producing a new program series about financial privacy.  The first two programs are completed.

The first part is an overview video that discusses the importance of financial privacy and the various laws and regulations that regulate.  These laws and regulations are discussed very broadly.  The video concludes with some key best practices for protecting financial data.  This video is made in a unique style — an animated piece of currency.

The second program focuses on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).  The video discusses the GLBA’s scope, notice, confidentiality, data sharing, and security.  The video also explains why protecting the privacy and security of financial data is important.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Privacy Training GLBA

There are interactive materials and quiz questions to accompany the video.

Privacy Self-Management and the Consent Dilemma

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
May 21, 2013

by Daniel J. Solove

I’m pleased to share with you my new article in Harvard Law Review entitled Privacy Self-Management and the Consent Dilemma, 126 Harvard Law Review 1880 (2013). You can download it for free on SSRN. This is a short piece (24 pages) so you can read it in one sitting.

Here are some key points in the Article:

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HIPAA Turns 10: Analyzing the Past, Present, and Future Impact

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
April 8, 2013

by Daniel J. Solove

In the April issue of the Journal of AHIMA, I authored two short pieces about HIPAA:

HIPAA Turns 10: Analyzing the Past, Present, and Future Impact
84 Journal of AHIMA 22 (April 2013)

HIPAA Mighty and Flawed: Regulation has Wide-Reaching Impact on the Healthcare
Industry
84 Journal of AHIMA 30 (April 2013)

The first piece provides an overview of HIPAA and its evolution. The second involves an analysis of HIPAA’s strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I find HIPAA to be one of the most effective privacy regulatory regimes.  HIPAA is very effective in large part because it requires privacy and security officials who have responsibility over these issues.  These officials develop policies and procedures, perform assessments, and provide HIPAA training to employees, among other things. Privacy laws are not self-executing, and enforcement agencies have limited enforcement resources. The effectiveness of the law depends upon each organization taking compliance seriously, and this starts with a governance structure, awareness training, and things that create a culture of compliance.  Many other privacy laws don’t realize this, and fail to include the robust governance components of HIPAA.

The entire issue is here. Copyright belongs to Journal of AHIMA.

* * * *

This post was authored by Professor Daniel J. Solove, who through TeachPrivacy develops computer-based privacy training, data security training, HIPAA training, and many other forms of training on privacy and security topics.  

If you are interested in privacy and data security issues, there are many great ways Professor Solove can help you stay informed:
* Professor Solove’s LinkedIn Influencer blog
* Professor Solove’s Twitter Feed
* Professor Solove’s Newsletter

Please join one or more of Professor Solove’s LinkedIn Discussion Groups:
* Privacy and Data Security
* HIPAA Privacy & Security
* Education Privacy and Data Security

The HIPAA-HITECH Regulation, the Cloud, and Beyond

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
January 26, 2013

HIPAA HITECH Privacy Trainingby Daniel J. Solove

The new HIPAA-HITECH regulation is here. Officially titled “Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules,” this new regulation modifies HIPAA in accordance with the changes mandated by the HITECH Act of 2009. After years of waiting and many false alarms that the regulation was going to be released imminently, prompting joking references to Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, HHS unleashed 563 pages upon the world. According to Office for Civil Rights (OCR) director Leon Rodriguez, the rule “marks the most sweeping changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules since they were first implemented.” I agree with his dramatic characterization of the regulation, for it makes some very big changes and very important ones too.

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Notable Privacy and Security Books 2012

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
December 28, 2012

Here are some notable books on privacy and security from 2012. To see a more comprehensive list of nonfiction works about privacy and security, Professor Paul Schwartz and I maintain a resource page on Nonfiction Privacy + Security Books.

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Final HIPAA-HITECH Regulation

Daniel Solove @danielsolove
Founder of TeachPrivacy
January 17, 2013

posted by Daniel J. Solove

The final HIPAA-HITECH regulation is finally out!  Clocking in at 563 pages long, the regulation, which is entitled “Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules” will be published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2013.  You can download the PDF of the pre-publication version here.