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Cinthia Granados Motley

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Cinthia Granados Motley is the Director of Dykema’s Global Data Privacy and Information Security practice group. She has an active national and international practice assisting clients implement effective information security practices, address current and emerging regulatory compliance issues, including cross-border data transfer and information governance, as well as litigation readiness and regulatory inquiry matters. She routinely acts as incident response counsel to national and multi-national entities, as well as privacy litigation counsel. In her litigation practice, Cinthia handles consumer and privacy litigation, international contract disputes, directors and officers liability, ERISA, e-discovery and  professional liability matters. She routinely counsels clients in complex commercial disputes both domestically and abroad.

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Hackers delight in targeting U.S. companies during the holiday season triggering a year-end spike in cyber-attacks, with Carbon Black reporting a 57.5 percent increase in attempted cyber-attacks during past holiday seasons. This year we can expect that threat actors across the globe will remain online throughout the holiday season, looking to capitalize on the distraction of the holidays and the increased internet traffic that comes with online holiday shopping.

Accordingly, now, more than ever, companies should remain alert to the possibility of a cyber-attack on their information systems, especially ransomware attacks, which have more than doubled this year alone according to McAfee Labs. The FBI has also gone so far as to issue a private bulletin to automotive companies warning of “a wide range of cyber threats and malicious activity in the near future,” according to an FBI report obtained by CNN. The FBI indicates that cyber-attacks “have resulted in ransomware infections, data breaches leading to the exfiltration of personally identifiable information, and unauthorized access to enterprise networks.” …
Continue Reading ‘Tis the Season to Be on Heightened Alert: FBI Warns of Targeted Cyber Attacks

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As businesses and privacy professionals were holding their breath awaiting the California Governor’s signature on pending amendments to the much anticipated California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), California’s Attorney General took the spotlight yesterday by releasing the similarly anticipated CCPA Regulations, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 11, .§999.300, et seq. (“Regulations”). Since the passage of the CCPA in June 2018, the regulations to accompany the CCPA have been touted as “guidance” on how to comply with the CCPA. Although only in draft form, some may argue that the newly released regulations increase the CCPA compliance burden, while others may argue the Regulations merely provide much needed detail on how to comply with the CCPA.

On October 10, 2019, California’s Office of the Attorney General released a notice of proposed rulemaking action, text of the proposed regulations, initial statement of reasons, and economic impact statement. The deadline to provide comments is December 6, 2019. …
Continue Reading The Regs are In! California’s Attorney General Releases the Long Awaited CCPA Regulations

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Last Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court delivered the highly anticipated Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., 2019 IL 123186, opinion. Businesses and consumers alike watched for the Court’s opinion regarding whether mere technical violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) gave plaintiffs the requisite standing to seek damages under the statute. The Court heard the case after the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled that an individual was not a “person aggrieved” by a technical violation and several other courts, both state and federal were split over the issue.  Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment, 2017 IL App (2d) 170317.  In a fairly short opinion, focusing on statutory construction and the common meaning of the word “aggrieved,” the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Court.  2019 IL 123186, ¶ 1. The Illinois Supreme Court held that an individual was in fact an “aggrieved person” under the statute where they are unable to show actual damage, but there has been a violation of the statute. The Court held, where there is no actual harm, the individual is entitled to statutory relief for each violation. In short, a technical violation is a violation.  The Illinois Supreme Court took a strong stance in that individuals should not have to wait for actual harm with respect to their biometric information and that businesses would lack the requisite motivation to comply with statutes like BIPA without such an interpretation. …
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court’s Rosenbach Ruling Likely to Expand BIPA Litigation

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While U.S. companies focused on the imposition of burdensome data protection laws being implemented overseas, California was hard at work on revamping its own laws. As of June 25, 2018, the home of big technology, Silicon Valley, Facebook, and Google, was prepared to consider the California Consumer Personal Information Disclosure and Sale Initiative (“Initiative”) on the November 2018 ballot. The Initiative sought to enact a version of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, requiring businesses to disclose, on a consumer’s demand, the personal information a business collects, the purpose for which it is used, and to whom it is sold or shared with. The Act also allows individuals to restrict the sharing of their information. Finally, the Act provides a simple path to recovery for violations. Although companies like Facebook and Google dropped their opposition to the Initiative, concerns remained among the business community, so California lawmakers stepped in. …
Continue Reading CLIENT ALERT: At Rocket Speed – The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 Signed into Law Yesterday

GDPR

In 2017, the Cayman Islands passed the Data Protection Law (“DPL”), which reads much like the upcoming European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) that goes into effect Mary 25, 2018. The DPL applies to entities falling within the definition of “data controller” who are established in the Islands or who process data in the Islands. The DPL divides data into two categories, personal data and sensitive data. Certain information is exempt from the application of the DPL, such as data processed in connection with a corporate finance service.[1] The DPL gives individuals the right to access their information, object to processing, and the right to request their information be corrected or erased.

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Continue Reading Cayman Islands Seek to Supplement Its Data Protection Law

SEC

In light of the increasing significance of cybersecurity incidents, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently found it necessary to provide further guidance with respect to cybersecurity disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws as they apply to public operating companies. On February 21, 2018, the SEC issued interpretive guidance on the cybersecurity disclosures of public companies through a Commission Statement and Guidance on Public Company Cybersecurity Disclosures (2018 Guidance). In its 2018 Guidance, the SEC emphasized the importance of disclosing material cybersecurity risks, even in cases where a company has not yet suffered a cyberattack. According to the SEC, public companies must stay focused on these issues and take all required action to inform investors about material cybersecurity risks and incidents in a fulsome and timely fashion.

The 2018 Guidance expands the SEC’s 2011 guidance on cybersecurity disclosure obligations and highlights a public company’s disclosure requirements when considering their disclosure obligations surrounding cybersecurity risks and incidents. It also addresses the importance of cybersecurity policies and procedures related to disclosure controls and procedures and reminds companies of their obligation to prohibit insider trading on materially non-public information about threats and incidents. …
Continue Reading SEC Ratchets Up Cybersecurity Disclosure Requirements

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U.S. Regulator Warns of “Evidence” of Global Cyber Assault Occurring Inside the U.S. and Steps Your Company Should Take Against a Ransomware Attack 

On Friday, May 12, 2017, Laura Wolf, Critical Infrastructure Protection Lead of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notification stating that:…
Continue Reading ALERT: Ransomware – a Global Wake-Up Call

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Chicago based  attorneys Cinthia Granados Motley and Ashley Jackson were published on Law360 February 7, 2017. The article, “10 Ways To Avoid Wrongful Collection Of Data Claims,” discusses tips by using the who, what, where, when and why of consumers to help answer the most asked questions.

Malware

MICROS, a point-of-sale (POS) payment systems vendor owned by Oracle, has suffered a malware attack according to security news site KrebsOnSecurity reported August 8, 2016.  MICROS is one of the three largest POS systems used globally by many companies in the retail and hospitality industry. It appears that Carbanak (aka Anunak), a Russian cybercriminal gang known to hack into retailers, penetrated up to 700 computer systems at Oracle, also compromising a customer support portal for companies using Oracle’s MICROS POS credit card payment systems.…
Continue Reading MICROS POS Systems Exposed By Malware Attack Which Targets Retail Merchants