PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

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Game of Risks: An Interview with Adam Levin on the HBO Breach, Cybersecurity Insurance, and Cyber Risks

  Recently, HBO suffered a massive data breach. The hackers stole unreleased episodes of Game of Thrones and have been leaking them before they are broadcast. Episodes of other shows were also stolen. The hackers grabbed 1.5 terabytes of data including sensitive internal documents.  

Ransomware The Horror Grows

As the FBI warned, ransomware has proven to be a formidable threat costing businesses over $1 billion in 2016, averaging 4,000 attacks per day. Ransomware forces victims to choose between losing access to their files or paying a fee that can range between hundreds and thousands of dollars. Ransomware has already made headlines in the first […]

Ransomware: A Cartoon to Brighten More Bad News

Ransomware cartoon

I have good news and bad news about ransomware.  First, the good news — here’s a cartoon I created.  I hope you enjoy it, because that’s the only good news i have.  Now, for the bad news . . . The Bad News: Be Afraid, Very Afraid Everyone seems to be afraid of ransomware these […]

Is a Ransomware Attack a HIPAA Data Breach?

Ransomware - Security Awareness Training

As ransomware escalates and poses serious security risks for healthcare institutions, many privacy experts and legislators have called for more specific guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A few weeks ago, HHS responded to these calls with a detailed fact sheet to explain ransomware and provide advice.  Although most of […]

Ransomware on a Rampage

Ransomware Training 01

Ransomware is on a rampage!  Attacks are happening with ever-increasing frequency, and ransomware is evolving and becoming more powerful. Several major media sites, such as the New York Times, BBC, AOL, and the NFL, were recently infected with malware that directed visitors to sites attempting to install ransomware on their computers. Ransomware has the potential […]

Ransomware’s Dilemma: Pay It or Not?

Ransomware cybersecurity training

Ransomware is one of the most frightening scourges to hit the Internet.  Ransomware is a form of malware (malicious code) that encrypts a person’s files and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.  If the money isn’t paid, the encryption keys are destroyed, and the data is lost forever. Ransomware began to emerge in 2009, […]

Facebook Privacy Sherpas, the Internet of Things, and Other Privacy + Security Updates

By Daniel J. Solove and Paul M. Schwartz This post is co-authored with Professor Paul M. Schwartz. This post is part of a post series where we round up some of the interesting news and resources we’re finding. For a PDF version of this post, and for archived issues of previous posts, click here.