The STBF Blog

Iot Security / Privacy: Behind The Tech Curve – Update

The IoT’s growing range of services and functionalities pose new security and privacy threats.  Laws are being adopted, “best” practices updated.  But AI data inference and facial recognition technologies using freely available information sidestep network security measures and anonymized data, making “consent” and willful disclosure beside the point.  It is up to the public to decide what to do. But first it must exercise its right to know. Can it?

The FTC’s New Data Breach Response Guide; A Tech Perspective; Hacked! Disclose It?

Takeaway Before a data breach occurs, businesses should have in place: Operations and forensics plans Communications strategy; and If disclosure not mandated, think twice before going public Data Breach Laws With some important exceptions, there is no federal law which requires that data breaches be publicly disclosed. Breaches involving health information are covered by a… Read more »

Sales Due Diligence, Big Data And Bad Apples

When you check a stockbroker’s background, his co-workers’ records may tell as much about his potential for future misconduct as his own history. Does this have any relevance to business transactions… What’s behind the sales numbers of the company you just bought? Social network analytics identifies hidden networks and traces unknown links among individuals and… Read more »

Attention Private Companies… The SEC Crackdown on Anti-Whistleblowing Agreements Concerns You Too

Bounties and Fines Whistleblowing has become a fact of life for business. And whistleblowing enforcement is a top U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission priority, with a growing number high profile, “send-a-message” cases. The SEC whistleblower program, launched in 2011 as part of Wall Street reform legislation, has expanded rapidly, taking off in 2016. To date,… Read more »

Franchises – Employee Non-Compete Clauses Under The Gun

The Illinois Attorney General sued the Jimmy John’s fast food franchisor earlier this month [1], seeking a declaratory judgment that Jimmy John’s non-compete covenants violate the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. All employees, including sandwich makers and delivery drivers, are barred from working at any business that earns more than 10% of its revenue from selling submarine and other… Read more »

Cyber Threat Information Sharing

The Cybersecurity Information Act of 2015 The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA)[1] was adopted to encourage voluntary sharing: (i) among private sector businesses; and (ii) between businesses and public entities, and the federal government, of information about cybersecurity threats, and the development of defensive measures. Information sharing by companies conflicts with the goal of… Read more »