Writings by Fernando M. Pinguelo

Department of Justice’s own brand of branding:How today’s court filing in the Apple vs FBI Terrorist Investigation Case is more about the new battle that’s emerged in the court of public opinion than it is about the legal battle in the courtroom. Finding a United States Court an insufficient venue to argue the merits of […]

President Obama Proposes to Strengthen Data Security For The Federal Government – What would that really mean? After a series of high-profile breaches of federal government systems, President Barak Obama’s recently proposed federal budget for fiscal 2017 includes $19 billion allocation for a broad cybersecurity initiative to strengthen data security. The budget proposal for cybersecurity-related […]

Computer Hacking Defendant Loses at U.S. Supreme Court Due To CFAA Violations In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held recently that the former executive of a logistics company was properly found guilty of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), even though the jury was given erroneous instructions that required a higher burden […]

FTC to Rely on Existing Laws to Police Corporate Use of Big Data The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a report outlining a number of legal concerns for businesses to consider regarding their use of big data analytics – namely, the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing large sets of data through the application […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a report outlining a number of legal concerns for businesses to consider regarding the corporate use of big data analytics. Namely, the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing large sets of data through the application of sophisticated computer algorithms to discover useful information. The report makes it clear […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made waves when it announced earlier this week that it reached a proposed settlement with Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (Wyndham). The agency’s enforcement action against Wyndham alleged that the company’s lax data security practices resulted in three separate consumer data breaches. In defending the suit,Wyndham unsuccessfully challenged the FTC’s authority to […]

As the year winds down, we take a look back at the business law issues that generated the most buzz in each of our practice areas. In the area of cybersecurity and data privacy, we saw new threats emerge as regulators and businesses struggle to keep pace. In case you missed some of our posts […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made it clear that cybersecurity is a top priority. In a series of recent speeches, officials have focused attention on chief compliance officers and emphasized that chief compliance officers may be in the agency’s crosshairs when breaches occur. The SEC announced that it plans to conduct a second […]

On October 27, 2015, the U.S. Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which is intended to address the increasing number of corporate data breaches. However, critics of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act contend that the lack of privacy protections opens the door for wide scale government surveillance. The stated goal of Cybersecurity Information […]

Will we now have a New Jersey Cybersecurity Commission? In the wake of the recent denial of service (DoS) attack that crippled Rutgers University, New Jersey lawmakers advanced legislation that would create the New Jersey Cybersecurity Commission. According to the bill, the purpose of the New Jersey Cybersecurity Commission is to “bring public and private […]

Do you lack cybersecurity confidence? Don’t worry many Business Executives don’t understand cybersecurity confidence. As cyber threats against U.S. businesses continue to grow, most companies have increased their investment in cybersecurity. However, according to a new survey, a number of high-level business executives revealed they did not possess much cybersecurity confidence. The March 2015 survey polled […]

Decisions have been made regarding the FTC’s cybersecurity authority… In a precedential decision, the Third Circuit Cmorourt of Appeals recently affirmed the cybersecurity authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to hold businesses liable for data breaches under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The Facts of the Case During 2008 and 2009, hackers breached […]