PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

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Great Fictional Works About Privacy and Security

By Daniel J. Solove At my annual event, the Privacy+Security Forum, which was held last month, one of the sessions  involved privacy and security in fiction. The panelists had some terrific readings suggestions, and I thought I’d share with you the write-up that they generated for their session. The speakers were: Peter Winn, Assistant U.S. […]

The Growing Problems with the Sectoral Approach to Privacy Law

Sectoral Omnibus Privacy Regulation

By Daniel J. Solove The US regulates privacy with a sectoral approach, with laws that are directed only to specific industries.  In contrast, the EU and many other countries have an omnibus approach — one overarching law that regulates privacy consistently across all industries.  The US is an outlier from the way most countries regulate […]

Alan Westin’s Privacy and Freedom

Alan Westin Privacy and Freedom

I am pleased to announce that Alan Westin’s classic work, Privacy and Freedom, is now back in print.  Originally published in 1967, Privacy and Freedom had an enormous influence in shaping the discourse on privacy in the 1970s and beyond, when the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) were developed. The book contains a short introduction […]

Sunken Safe Harbor: 5 Implications of Schrems and US-EU Data Transfer

By Daniel J. Solove In a profound ruling with enormous implications,the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared the Safe Harbor Arrangement to be invalid. [Press Release]  [Opinion] The Safe Harbor Arrangement The Safe Harbor Arrangement has been in place since 2000, and it is a central means by which data about EU citizens can […]

Phishing Your Employees: 3 Essential Tips

Phishing Training

A popular way some organizations are raising awareness about phishing is by engaging in simulated phishing exercises of their workforce.  Such simulated phishing can be beneficial, but there are some potential pitfalls and also important things to do to ensure that it is effective. 1. Be careful about data collection and discipline Think about the data […]

6 Great Films About Privacy and Security

By Daniel Solove I previously shared 5 of my favorite novels about privacy and security, and I’d now like to share 6 of my favorite films about these topics — because I just couldn’t whittle the list down to 5. I was thinking about my favorite films because I’ve been putting together a session at […]

PCI Training: Reducing the Risk of Phishing Attacks

PCI Training Payment Card Data Risks

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council recently released a helpful short guide to preventing phishing attacks.  Merchants and any other organization that accepts payment cards most follow the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).  One of the requirements of the PCI DSS is to train the workforce about how to properly collect, handle, […]

Start with Security: The FTC’s Data Security Guidance

Recently, the FTC issued a short guide to what organizations can do to protect data security.  It is called Start with Security  (HTML) — a PDF version is here.  This document provides a very clear and straightforward discussion of 10 good information security measures.  It uses examples from FTC cases.

Why HIPAA Matters: Medical ID Theft and the Human Cost of Health Privacy and Security Incidents

By Daniel J. Solove Whenever I go to a doctor and am asked what I do for a living, I say that I focus on information privacy law. “HIPAA?” the doctors will ask. “Yes, HIPAA,” I confess. And then the doctor’s face turns grim.  At first, it looks like the face of a doctor about […]

5 Things the FTC Should Do to Improve Data Security in the Wake of Wyndham

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 […]