Reprinted with permission from HB Litigation.
Have you ever wondered why the same advertisement seems to be following you around the Internet?  Toby Merrill of ACE Professional Risk attributes this phenomenon to the increased use of data analytics by advertisement companies.  Data analytics is being used to track online users’ preferences so that companies can specifically target users with advertisements that match their interests.  This type of data collection has led to the hot-button issues of whether companies are infringing on their customers’ privacy rights and whether this data is being wrongfully collected.

A Q&A with Nathan Steuer and Peter Coddington
Mobile devices are essentially computers that can go anywhere the employee goes. While these devices enable powerful computing capabilities, they are also easily lost and left unprotected, creating additional data security risks for organizations that use them. I asked Nathan Steuer, business development director, and Peter Coddington, CEO of PaRaBal, Inc., in Catonsville, MD, about limiting the vulnerabilities of mobile devices.

A Q&A with Ryan Kriger
Among state Attorneys General, Vermont has gained a reputation for being particularly aggressive about data breach and privacy regulation. To better understand the state’s Consumer Protection Act requirements and processes for data breach investigation, I talked to Ryan Kriger, Assistant Attorney General.

A Q&A with Dominique Shelton
The area of mobile app customer data collection is fraught with heightened regulatory interest. In the past 18 months, industry leaders have come together to create the Best Practices in Mobile Data Collection guidance while the California Attorney General released “Privacy on the Go.” To get a better handle on the issue of mobile app data collection, I spoke with Dominique Shelton of Edwards Wildman Palmer, LLP in Los Angeles, CA.

A Q&A with Barbara Bennett
When they were released this past January, the final HITECH regulations amending the HIPAA Security, Privacy, Breach and Enforcement Rules updated those regulations with expansion of the scope of the rules, increased patient protections and more stringent government oversight, including application of the rules to contractors and subcontractors. So what does this mean for healthcare organizations and the service providers that work with them? I asked Barbara Bennett, partner at Hogan Lovells, LLP in Washington, DC to explain the finer points of the final rules.

A Q&A with Ronald Raether, Jr.
In an increasingly device-dependent world, the issue of data integrity with regard to mobile applications is becoming ever more critical. In California, the attorney general brought a case against Delta Airlines for not warning customers that it was collecting sensitive data. I asked Ronald Raether, Jr., defense attorney and partner at Faruki Ireland & Cox in Dayton, OH, about the case and its implications for liability and regulatory exposure.

A Q&A with Emily Cummins, Risk Manager and Chair of the Technology Advisory Council (TAC) of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
Though it may have only captured the public’s attention recently, cyber risk has been an emerging risk management concern for decades. To find out more about what keeps risk managers up at night, I spoke to Emily Cummins, CPA, CPCU, ARM, ARe, risk manager and current chair of the Technology Advisory Council (TAC) of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), which has chosen cyber risk as an area of focus for 2012.

A Q&A with David Lineman, President of Information Shield
An organization’s security is only as good as its underlying policy. Besides guiding personnel on procedures, rules and protocols, policy is also a public signpost that will reassure customers, third party organizations and stakeholders that their data will be protected. To find out more about the common mistakes people make with regard to data safeguard policy, I talked to David Lineman, president of Information Shield (and eRisk Hub resource vendor).