CyberSecurity & Data Privacy
Ransomware – What it is, how to avoid it, and what to do if you are infected.
Ransomware has been one of the top cyber threats in the past several years. Thanks to the WannaCry attack of 2017 and others, most people have heard of this type of cyber threat, but many do not know how it works, how to protect against it, or what to do if they are infected. Here are some suggestions to include in your overall cyber risk ...
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Why You Need to Enable MFA For Your Business Now
Creating passwords needs to be a challenge, not for you to remember but for others to guess. Yet, the digital world is changing. A single sign-on password is pretty easy for unsavory characters to hack. Statistics indicate in 2021, there were 50% more cyberattacks per week aimed at companies compared to 2020. Furthermore, cybercrime costs are expected to reach a whopping $10.5 trillion by 2025 ...
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Department of Justice Announces New Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative – What This Means for Federal Contractors
Recently, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced the Department of Justice’s new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, aimed at combatting “new and emerging cyber threats to the security of sensitive information and critical systems.” The Initiative will be led by the Department’s Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and is a direct result of the Department’s comprehensive cyber review ordered by Deputy Monaco last May ...
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Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 – What Federal Contractors Need To Know
On November 4, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by releasing the latest and highly anticipated iteration of the CMMC program – CMMC 2.0. According to the DoD, the streamlined version of CMMC 2.0: Cuts red tape for small and medium-sized businesses Sets priorities for protecting DoD information Reinforces cooperation between the DoD and industry in addressing evolving ...
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Prioritizing Cybersecurity in a Hybrid Workplace
In this day and age, employees are more connected than ever. The hybrid workplace is here to stay, and for employees, this means relying on connected devices from their home offices. According to recent data,[1] smart home systems are set to rise to a market value of $157 billion by 2023, and the number of installed connected devices in the home is expected to rise ...
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FIGHT THE PHISH!
In our earlier article, we discussed tips on practicing basic cyber hygiene. One of the most common attack methods mentioned in that article was phishing. This article will discuss the importance of being aware of text messages, emails, or chat boxes that come from someone you do not know or were not expecting. Phishing has been a staple in the cybersecurity threat landscape for decades ...
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Cybersecurity Best Practices
In our first article to kick off Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we will discuss some steps businesses can take to improve their cyber hygiene. Over the past few years, some of the largest and well-known companies have been affected by data breaches resulting in millions of dollars in losses. Smaller businesses are not immune from data breaches, and even a small data breach impacting only a ...
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Vandeventer Black LLP Supports Cybersecurity Awareness Month – 2021
In recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Vandeventer Black is pleased to announce that it will again be providing information and resources throughout the month of October to increase awareness of some of the complex cybersecurity issues and challenges that face businesses in Virginia and beyond. Recently, we published a series of articles addressing ransomware attacks, such as those involving Colonial Pipeline and JBS S.A., ...
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How does El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law Impact U.S.-based Virtual Currency Exchanges?
Vandeventer Black Corporate & Business, CyberSecurity & Data Privacy, Financial Services & Securities
In our recent article on the legal framework governing virtual currencies, we briefly discussed the distinction between money transmitters and virtual currency exchanges. In short, transmitters are entities that convert fiat currency into virtual currency, whereas exchanges are entities that swap one virtual currency for another, such as Ethereum (ETH) for Dogecoin (DOGE). The distinction is relevant since transmitters are sometimes regulated differently than exchanges. ...
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New Developments in the Colonial Pipeline Attack Provide Businesses Good News – And Some Important Lessons
It has been barely a month since we reported on the recent ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline Company, yet news continues to break with additional revelations about the recent attack. What we have learned during the past several weeks should give businesses encouragement, while reinforcing some important lessons. Shortly after the attack, it was revealed that Colonial Pipeline paid roughly $4.3 million in bitcoin ...
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Recent Attack On World’s Largest Meat Supplier Shows Businesses Are Vulnerable To Ransomware
A few weeks ago, details of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack filled the news cycle, and by now, most people have heard about the latest ransomware attack to hit the news. Brazil’s JBS S.A., the world’s largest meat processing company, was targeted this week by a ransomware attack that, according to reports, appeared to have originated from a criminal group likely operating in Russia, shutting ...
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Cryptocurrency: Entrepreneurs Leveraging New Technology
Vandeventer Black Corporate & Business, CyberSecurity & Data Privacy, Financial Services & Securities, Technology Roundup
Our previous article in this series looked at the legal framework surrounding blockchain technology. This article will look at practical uses for the technology. Blockchain technology has implications for many business owners, even those not interested in the speculative trading element in cryptocurrency which is akin to trading in the stock market. In addition to acting as a cash replacement, cryptocurrencies have many other applications, ...
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Cryptocurrency: A Legal Framework for a Fast-Moving Technology
Vandeventer Black Corporate & Business, CyberSecurity & Data Privacy, Financial Services & Securities, Technology Roundup
Our previous article considered the technology behind cryptocurrency. This article will focus on the legal framework governing the industry. The cryptocurrency market is subject to a patchwork of inconsistent legislation and regulations that continue to evolve, leading to uncertainty about its future. While the blockchain industry has grown for years, regulators have not kept pace with this growth, making the desire for regulatory clarification greater ...
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Cryptocurrency: An Evolving Market Still in its Infancy and Where it Stands Today
Vandeventer Black Corporate & Business, CyberSecurity & Data Privacy, Financial Services & Securities, Technology Roundup
Bitcoin was first introduced in a 2009 white paper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.[1] Since then, cryptocurrencies[2], also known as virtual or digital currencies, have exploded, with thousands of different types in circulation, achieving a $2T market cap in early 2021[3], and with the number of blockchain wallet users rising to more than 70 million as of May 2021.[4] However, the blockchain concept, which ...
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New ERISA Guidance on Retirement Plan Cybersecurity
The Department of Labor (DOL) has just issued first-time retirement plan guidance to address cybersecurity risks for employers, plan fiduciaries, recordkeepers and plan participants. The guidance is in the form of recommended best practices to protect retirement benefits by providing strong cybersecurity practices for employers and plan service providers and online security tips for participants. The concern is that with millions of dollars accumulating in ...
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East Meets West: Virginia Follows California’s Example with Comprehensive Consumer Data Protection Legislation
Article published in Virginia Lawyer | April 2021 | VOL. 69 | The Construction Law and Public Contracts Issue | Page 45 ...
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Protecting Your Organization: Eastern District of Virginia Rules Cybersecurity Incident Report Not Privileged Work Product
On May 26, 2020, in In re Capital One Consumer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL 1:19md2915 (E.D. Va.) the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division) (Anderson, J.) held that a forensic investigation report conducted by a third-party investigator under the direction of outside counsel on behalf of Capital One in response to a data breach was not entitled to protection ...
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COVID-19 And Teleworking – Making Sure Businesses And Their Employees Are On The Same Page
Your employee is sitting at his or her home office working on a project and notices an email in his or her inbox with the subject line: “Urgent Request” or “Please get this done ASAP.” Not wanting to miss an urgent communication from work in this age of telework, your employee immediately switches tasks to review the email. It appears that the email has come ...
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Be Vigilant – Covid-19 Creates Additional Opportunities For Fraud
As the spread of COVID-19 virus creates anxiety and uncertainty across the globe, it also creates new opportunities for cyber fraud. On Saturday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint for a Temporary Restraining Order in the Western District of Texas against defendant, “John Doe” who, according to the complaint, “acting alone or in concert with others” operated a website known as ...
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Cyber Liability Insurance for Small to Medium Size Businesses – Are You Covered?
Today, it seems hardly a month passes without a report of another business falling victim to a data breach. Over the past few years, some of the largest and well-known companies such as Equifax, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Anthem, Sony Pictures, and Uber, have been affected by data breaches. These companies have experienced significant losses, totaling millions of dollars. While larger companies may possess ...
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