CBS 11 DFW interviews Shawn Tuma who explains that when you are given a free service or product to use, you and your data are the real product. By now everyone has now heard of — and likely used — Zoom for staying connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. In what may have been a brilliant…
How will the #COVID19 #coronavirus #coronapocolypse impact the future of how we do life?
When has society ever moved forward, technologically speaking, and then gone back to the old ways of doing things? Think about the long term impact all of these closings and remote work / school / etc are going to have on our society. Many companies have had long-term plans to implement these things but now…
Please share this!
Is ransomware the coronavirus of the cyber world?
The coronavirus is an epidemic in the world today. Ransomware is an epidemic in the cyber world today. We are told that, if we start using better personal hygiene — like washing our hands — we can help minimize the risk of the nasty coronavirus. If nothing else positive comes from this epidemic, hopefully, the…
Please share this!
Explaining Third Party Cyber Risk and the Role of Contracts to Business Lawyers
This morning I am in Austin, TX about to speak to a room full of business lawyers about the importance of understanding and managing third party cyber risk and the role that contracts have in this process. I recognize that they are not aspiring to be cyber or privacy lawyers and have plenty to keep…
Please share this!
Healthcare Providers – Are You Prepared for Hackers to Tell Your Patients About Your Ransomware and Data Breach?
If you are a healthcare provider, you need to prepare yourself now for the new reality that, when hackers get into your network, they will contact your patients to put pressure on you to pay their ransom demands — usually after they have encrypted your network. Here is an example from a recent case that…
Please share this!
Is #ShameHacking Coming Next? Hackers Breach Search Engine for Japanese Sex Hotels
Shame hacking — the use, or threatened use, of purportedly hacked data for embarrassing or extorting people by threatening to expose such compromising data if they do not comply with the demands made of them — is a thing. A search engine for Japanese sex hotels just announced a breach whereby hackers may have accessed…
Please share this!
2 Decades Later: Cyber Risk Isn’t Y2K–It Is An Unsolved Risk That You Must Take Seriously
12/31/19 Two decades ago to the day, I sat right here in my home study and thought about how my career as a cyber incident responder was surely about to blast off. Though I had only been licensed to practice law for under two months, I just knew this subject matter was it — my…
Please share this!
Ransomware + Publicize Victim Companies + Expose Stolen Data = Bad Cyber Extortion Trifecta
Cybercriminals are using a bad cyber extortion trifecta of (1) using ransomware to encrypt victim companies’ data, (2) publicizing the names of those companies that don’t pay up, and (3) then exposing the data they stole from the companies. This is bad stuff and companies had better be ready to protect themselves. Read more: Ransomware…
Please share this!
Why is the FBI Warning About Smart TVs?
Why is the FBI warning about smart TV cybersecurity? Because a smart TV is a computer — it is just built into a really large monitor — and it should be secured like a computer because hackers can hack it just like any other computer. (See FBI Warning) Listen to Shawn Tuma discuss this issue…
Please share this!
Sharing the Load: What are Chief Privacy Officers, Chief Information Security Officers, and General Counsel Doing in Real Life to Divide Up Roles and Responsibilities? (conference panel discussion)
Business leaders are beginning to understand that cyber is not just an IT issue, a legal issue, or any other silo-ed issue, but that it is an overall business risk issue and that makes managing cyber risk a team sport. This week I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion that was titled “Sharing…
