data security

Subscribe to data security

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a final rule (Order No. 887) directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to develop new or modified Reliability Standards that require internal network security monitoring (“INSM”) within Critical Infrastructure Protection (“CIP”) networked environments.  This Order may be of interest to entities that develop, implement, or maintain hardware or software for operational technologies associated with bulk electric systems (“BES”).

The forthcoming standards will only apply to certain high- and medium-impact BES Cyber Systems.  The final rule also requires NERC to conduct a feasibility study for implementing similar standards across all other types of BES Cyber Systems.  NERC must propose the new or modified standards within 15 months of the effective date of the final rule, which is 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.  

Background

According to the FERC news release, the 2020 global supply chain attack involving the SolarWinds Orion software demonstrated how attackers can “bypass all network perimeter-based security controls traditionally used to identify malicious activity and compromise the networks of public and private organizations.”  Thus, FERC determined that current CIP Reliability Standards focus on prevention of unauthorized access at the electronic security perimeter and that CIP-networked environments are thus vulnerable to attacks that bypass perimeter-based security controls.  The new or modified Reliability Standards (“INSM Standards”) are intended to address this gap by requiring responsible entities to employ INSM in certain BES Cyber Systems.  INSM is a subset of network security monitoring that enables continuing visibility over communications between networked devices that are in the so-called “trust zone,” a term which generally describes a discrete and secure computing environment.  For purposes of the rule, the trust zone is any CIP-networked environment.  In addition to continuous visibility, INSM facilitates the detection of malicious and anomalous network activity to identify and prevent attacks in progress.  Examples provided by FERC of tools that may support INSM include anti-malware, intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems, and firewalls.   …

Continue Reading FERC Orders Development of New Internal Network Security Monitoring Standards

The UK Government’s (UKG) proposals for new, sector-specific cybersecurity rules continue to take shape. Following the announcement of a Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill and a consultation on the security of apps and app stores in the Queen’s Speech (which we briefly discuss here), the UKG issued a call for views on whether action is needed to ensure cyber security in data centres and cloud services (described here).

In recent weeks, the UKG has made two further announcements:

  • On 30 August 2022, it issued a response to its public consultation on the draft Electronic Communications (Security measures) Regulations 2022 (Draft Regulations) and a draft Telecommunications Security code of practice (COP), before laying a revised version of the Draft Regulations before Parliament on 5 September.
  • On 1 September 2022, it issued a call for information on the risks associated with unauthorized access to individuals’ online accounts and personal data, and measures that could be taken to limit that risk.

We set out below further detail on these latest developments.

*****…

Continue Reading A packed end to the UK’s cyber summer: Government moves forward with telecoms cybersecurity proposals and consults on a Cyber Duty to Protect

In addition to the two developments we reported on in our last blog post, on July 7, 2022, the long-waited, final version of the Measures for Security Assessment of Cross-border Data Transfer (《数据出境安全评估办法》, “Measures”) were released by the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”).  With a very tight implementation schedule, the…

A recent class action refiled in federal court against Shopify highlights a growing trend of lawsuits against companies related to the theft of cryptocurrency, particularly as a result of internal company threats.  See Forsberg et al v. Shopify, Inc. et al, 1:22-cv-00436 (D. Del.).  Despite not itself being a repository for or facilitating the…