Consumer Affairs reports on a new identity theft study that reaffirms the need to take proactive measures to protect your security. Attorney Daniel J. Siegel of the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC and Integrated Technology Services, LLC, is quoted in the article, reminding everyone that mutlifactor authentication is essential. Click here to read the article.
The article explains that, according to the Identity Theft Research Center, the biggest increases in the last year were:
Reports from victims of non-financial account takeover (235% increase over 2020)
Social media account takeover (1,044% increase over 2020)
Identity misuse involving government credentials or accounts (154% increase from 2019-2020 and 7% increase from 2020 to 2021)
The Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, which is chaired by Attorney Daniel J. Siegel, issued a Formal Ethics Opinion, Number 2022-100, concerning attorneys’ obligations to request counsel fees following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Opinion in Lorino v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Commonwealth) in December 2021. Entitled “Attorney’s Obligations to Request Counsel Fees Under Section 440 of the Workers’ Compensation Act,” the Opinion advises attorneys that they are not required to request the fees, but that, at the relevant time during the litigation, attorneys are required to discuss the issue with their clients, including whether or not to request the fees, and must abide by the clients’ decision whether to seek the award of fees.… Read the rest
The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Plain English Committee will present its 2022 Clarity Award to Daniel J. Siegel, owner of Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel LLC, Havertown, at an awards luncheon during the PBA Annual Meeting, May 11-13 in Hershey.
The award was created by the committee to recognize “those who have done the most to foster plain English in the legal field.”… Read the rest
Although only one in seven businesses typically reports a cybersecurity hack to the federal government that should change now that the recent budget/government funding law requires 16 types of businesses to report hacks to the Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours. The types of hacks that must be reported include data breaches and ransomware attacks/payments. Lawyers and law firms already have an ethical obligation under the Rules of Professional Conduct to report breaches, attacks and other cybersecurity incidents to clients whose data may have been impacted.… Read the rest
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released a Private Industry Notification (PIN) to warn U.S. governments, elected officials and candidates about cybersecurity threats, particularly invoice-themed phishing emails that could be used to harvest these officials’ login credentials. This threat applies to all governments, local to national, all government employees, all elected officials, and all candidates for elected office. In short, this threat applies to a wide range of people, and it is one to take very seriously.… Read the rest
UPDATED INFORMATION – APRIL 4, 2022:Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, announced today the the SSA will resume in-person services at local Social Security Offices on Friday, April 7, 2022. The following is Commissioner Kijakazi’s verbatin statement:
“I am pleased to announce that local Social Security offices will restore in-person services, including for people without an appointment, on April 7, 2022.… Read the rest
No matter your politics, most of us aren’t thinking of President Biden when it comes to technology advice. Yet it was the Biden White House offering excellent advice on protecting yourself online. This isn’t fancy geek language, it is the same cybersecurity advice I have given in dozens of programs not only to lawyers and law firms but also to community groups and others.… Read the rest
The FCC has added Kaspersky products to the list of cybersecurity risks. Law firms should alert staff not to use the products on any devices that access their firms’ networks to safeguard client information.
Of course, the last thing you need from your Internet security product is for it to be a threat to your security. Let alone national security. But on Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called Kaspersky a national cybersecurity threat by adding Kaspersky, China Mobile, and China Telecom to the list of companies affected by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.… Read the rest
Can we all agree that email has been around for a while? And so has the horrid Reply to All feature. And so has the ability of businesses to just turn off email boxes of employees and not monitor who might be contacting the departed. Have we learned nothing in all the years email has been a part of our lives?… Read the rest
