On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted almost entirely along party lines to invalidate, under the Congressional Review Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) (in)famous 2013 Bulletin on lending discrimination in the indirect auto market via discretionary mark-ups and dealer compensation policies. The 2013 Bulletin, construing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing rule,
Federal Enforcement Isn’t the Only HIPAA Concern—States Flex Their Muscles
Despite the lack of significant settlements for HIPAA enforcement by the federal Office of Civil Rights (OCR) so far in 2018, states have not hesitated to patrol privacy and security breach activity and take action against perceived violations. Indeed, under the HITECH Act, state attorneys general have their own HIPAA enforcement authority. Two recent settlements…
HIPAA in Due Diligence (Part III): Risk Mitigation Strategies
Health Information Highlight
Welcome back to our three-part series examining ways to efficiently identify, address and mitigate gaps in HIPAA compliance in transaction diligence. In Part I, we discussed four key diligence questions upon which buyers should focus their efforts in a transaction. In Part II, we reviewed considerations related to storage of and access…
Does United States v. Ying Expand the Knowledge Requirement for “Classical” Insider Trading?
On March 14, 2018, the SEC and DOJ sued Jun Ying, a former Chief Information Officer within an Equifax Inc. business unit, for insider trading. Specifically, they accused him of knowing about a significant Equifax data breach prior to its public disclosure and, while in possession of that material nonpublic information, exercising his Equifax options…
HIPAA in Due Diligence (Part II): Cloud Server Data and HIPAA Compliance
Health Information Highlight
Welcome back to our three-part series examining ways to efficiently identify, address and mitigate gaps in HIPAA compliance in transaction diligence. In Part I of this series, we discussed four key diligence questions upon which buyers should focus their efforts in a transaction. Here, we review considerations related to storage of…
HIPAA in Due Diligence (Part I): Four Key Diligence Questions
Health Information Highlight
Welcome to a three-part series that will examine several ways to efficiently identify, address, and mitigate gaps in HIPAA compliance in transaction diligence.
A target’s value is often held in its information and people. An increased risk of HIPAA enforcement means that privacy and security diligence should not be a “check the…
“White Hat” Ethical Hackers and Corporate Investigations
This post originally appeared in our sister publication, Password Protected.
A “white hat” is an ethical computer hacker who specializes in penetration testing and other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organization’s information systems. According to the Ethical Hacking Council, “The goal of the ethical hacker is to help the…
Full D.C. Circuit Court, Reversing Decision Below, Holds that CFPB’s Independent Structure is Constitutional; also Reinstates Important RESPA Rulings
In a long-awaited constitutional decision regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today in PHH v. CFPB reversed a prior ruling by a three-judge panel that the CFPB is unconstitutionally structured. As we previously reported, that prior panel’s prior decision — stayed since its issuance in October…
DOJ Memorandum Sets Out FCA Dismissal Factors
A January 10 internal memorandum from the director of the fraud section of the DOJ’s civil division commercial litigation branch, which has recently become public, sets out the factors the government should consider in dismissing False Claims Act (FCA) cases in which it has declined to intervene, and may suggest a greater possibility that the…
Unexplained Wealth Orders
For some time there has been a perception that the UK is a safe refuge for corrupt individuals seeking to conceal their unlawfully acquired assets. This has particularly been the case with regard to persons from countries outside the UK.
The Government has sought to address this by amending the Proceeds of Crime Act…