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Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D., W.Va.) recently sent a letter to the CEOs of all Fortune 500
companies asking the companies for more information about their
cybersecurity practices. The letter comes a month after
Senate Republicans filibustered and blocked a bill that would
have established voluntary computer security standards for
companies running critical infrastructure system, including the
electric grid and Wall Street.
In the letter, Senator Rockefeller asks the companies to
provide the Senate Commerce Committee with answers to eight
questions about their cybersecurity needs, as well as their views
on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, by October 19th.
These questions are as follows:
Has your company adopted a set of best practices to address its
own cybersecurity needs?
If so, how were these cybersecurity practices
developed?
Were they developed by the company solely, or were they
developed outside the company? If developed outside the company,
please list the institution, association, or entity that developed
them.
When were these cybersecurity practices developed? How
frequently have they been updated? Does your company's board of
directors or audit committee keep abreast of developments regarding
the development and implementation of these practices?
Has the federal government played any role, whether advisory or
otherwise, in the development of these cybersecurity
practices?
What are your concerns, if any, with a voluntary program
that enables the federal government and the private sector to
develop, in coordination, best cybersecurity practices for
companies to adopt as they so choose, as outlined in the
Cybersecurity Act of 2012?
What are your concerns, if any, with the federal
government conducting risk assessments, in coordination with the
private sector, to best understand where our nation's cyber
vulnerabilities are, as outlined in the Cybersecurity Act of
2012?
What are your concerns, if any, with the federal
government determining, in coordination with the private sector,
the country's most critical cyber infrastructure, as outlined
in the Cybersecurity Act of 2012?
Although the companies receiving the letter are not
legally obligated to respond, the letter is further evidence that,
even though Congressional action has ground to a halt, the
quest for cybersecurity legislation is not going away.
According to a report inThe Hill, two U.S. Senators have called on
President Obama to issue an executive order to address urgent
action and a critical need to fill the cybersecurity
void.
Companies should be proactive and implement cybersecurity
safeguards and policies now so that these protections are already
in place by the time any regulatory action is taken.
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The 2010 theft of an unencrypted laptop containing confidential health care information made front-page news in 2013, not because a huge number of patients were affected, but for the exact opposite reason.
Identity theft is a serious threat. In 2012, more than 12.6 million adults became victims of identity theft in the U.S.1 And the costs have been astronomical.
On April 22 Verizon released its 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which has since 2008 become a leading annual survey of data breaches, with participants across the globe.
Increasingly, privacy is a big concern in app development. California and other jurisdictions are ramping up enforcement efforts around existing privacy laws.
Understanding the complexities of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules is often a challenge for health care providers and consumers.
Any company that collects personal data from consumers should take proactive steps to have appropriate legal counsel review its data security practices, as well as its terms of service or privacy practices, to identify any potential problem areas.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published on its website a series of factsheets designed to educate consumers unfamiliar with their rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules.
FTC On The Prowl, And Businesses Looking For Guidance On New COPPA Changes
