December is upon is, which means it is time for the Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity team at Ropes & Gray to kick off the 12 Days of Data, our annual blog series looking back at 2025 and ahead to what 2026 is likely to bring in the world of data protection. As regulators, courts
As a recent DataPhiles post explored, the threat to telecommunications infrastructure and private call records posed by foreign threat actors only continues to grow. In fact, at least one U.S. government agency has urged employees to avoid using mobile communications for any work-related activity. This has led private entities to wonder how they might protect the sensitive mobile communications of officers and employees.Continue Reading New Year, New Threats: Practical Tips for Secure Communications after Salt Typhoon
After its election to power in July 2024, the newly formed Labour government wasted little time in announcing its legislative priorities for the coming year. Unsurprisingly, these priorities included several proposed Bills relating to data protection, cybersecurity and digital regulation. At the time of writing, only one of these Bills—the Data (Use and Access) Bill (“DUAB”)—has been introduced to Parliament, with the others expected to follow in early 2025.Continue Reading Meet the In-Laws: the UK’s Digital Legislative Agenda for 2025
Cybersecurity and national security collided in significant ways in 2024, with governments and private-sector entities grappling with the legal, technical, and policy challenges of a rapidly evolving cyber landscape. Offensive cyber operations, questions of foreign ownership of social media companies, and the balance of power between the Executive and Legislative branches are just a few of the pressing issues shaping the modern landscape. OAs governments and private entities grapple with these challenges, the legal frameworks governing cybersecurity are evolving rapidly, offering both opportunities and risks for practitioners.Continue Reading Deck the Halls with Cyber Walls: Navigating National Security in the Digital Age
2024 was a record year for cyberattacks in the healthcare sector. According to the Breach Portal maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), to date this year, there have been more than 530 breaches of protected health information (“PHI”) affecting 500 or more individuals. 2024 also the saw the largest known breach of PHI at a HIPAA-regulated entity: Russia-linked cybercrime organization, BlackCat/ALPHV executed a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, Inc., the payment processor owned by UnitedHealth, which affected the records of more than 100 million individuals.Continue Reading A Flurry of Healthcare Sector Cybersecurity Regulatory Developments in 2024
While there are many significant federal laws and regulations related to cybersecurity, states have led the way in regulating this area on a general, sector-agnostic basis, with the most notable and widely acknowledged state cybersecurity provisions being state data breach notification laws. However, more recently, states have focused on passing comprehensive privacy, rather than security, laws, and 2025 promises to be a continuation of this trend, with eight additional comprehensive state privacy laws coming into effect next year. Continue Reading Making a List and Checking it Twice: Navigating State Privacy and Security Regulations This Year
In the six years since the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) took effect, governments around the world have updated their data protection laws to reflect the seismic changes in data processing that were created with the introduction of the smartphone. Having been in place for nearly 40 years, Australia’s Privacy Act (1988) has been a notable outlier – but that is now changing, with significant reforms to the country’s data protection regime being introduced in the latter half of 2024.Continue Reading Australia’s Privacy Reforms: Claus for Concern?
While students are about to embark on their holiday break, there is no such luck for educational technology (“EdTech”) providers. Privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence compliance obligations have proliferated over the past year, with no signs of slowing down. While it is hard to keep track of the numerous regulations and proposals on the state and federal level, below, I have highlighted a few issues for EdTech providers to monitor in the coming year.Continue Reading No Holiday Break for EdTech Compliance
Throughout 2024, financial sector regulators sharpened their focus on data protection and cybersecurity issues impacting financial institutions and the public. Key federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) have been joined by state regulators, such as the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”), in proposing and finalizing significant rulemaking, pursuing novel enforcement actions, and issuing influential guidance. 2025 promises to be a continuation of this considerable trend. Continue Reading Dashing Through Cybersecurity Regulations in the Financial Services Sector in 2024
On 30 November 2022, OpenAI made its ChatGPT generative artificial intelligence chatbot publicly available. In the two years since, its unprecedented growth has fostered a dramatic shift in public attention to and interest in all forms of AI. Now, the possibilities and risks presented by the continued development of AI are also firmly at the top of mind for businesses and regulators across the world.Continue Reading New Year’s Resolutions: What 2025 Holds for AI Regulation