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High-profile hackers grab the headlines. But some data thieves prefer old school methods – rifling through file cabinets, pinching paperwork, and pilfering devices like smartphones and flash drives. As your business bolsters the security of your network, don’t let that take attention away from how you secure documents and devices. FTC law enforcement actions, closed investigations, and experiences we’ve heard from businesses demonstrate the...

In order to reduce the burden associated with submitting detailed information for every document withheld on a claim of privilege, the Bureau has established an optional two-step privilege log process. Rather than submitting a complete privilege log for all withheld documents and custodians, parties may opt to initially submit an abbreviated log of documents withheld on a claim of privilege. This is called a Partial Log. This initial log has very...

Dads and Moms want what’s best for their babies, so some companies feature adjectives like “organic” or “natural” in ads for infant gear. Those are among the terms Illinois-based Moonlight Slumber used to sell its baby mattresses online and at some of the nation’s biggest retailers. But according to an FTC complaint, when it came to backing its mattress claims with proper support, the company was asleep at the switch. In ads for its Starlight...

“Sound data security is a process, not a checklist.” We’ve all heard that slogan – and with good reason. The way that sensitive information moves into, through, and out of your company’s networks or the software products you develop is ever-evolving. So, too, are the risks that hackers and data thieves pose as they adapt to the countermeasures you take to foil their efforts. Approaching data security with a one-and-done attitude ignores the here...

Trust, but verify. That’s good advice in many contexts, including in your approach to businesses you hire to process sensitive data in your possession. Even if a breach ultimately traces back to a service provider’s conduct, from the perspective of a customer or employee whose personal information has been comprised, the buck stops with you. That’s why Start with Security cautions companies to make sure their service providers implement...

UPDATE: As of September 21, 2018, the law says credit freezes are free for everyone, and alerts now last one year (not 90 days). Read more here. Consumers are apprehensive about the security of their personal information and recent headlines about data breaches have moved the needle substantially on the -ometer that measures such things. As a business executive, your customers and employees may be coming to you with questions. Here are answers...

It sounds like there was some “inventing” going on at Florida-based invention promotion firm World Patent Marketing, but a Preliminary Injunction in a case brought by the FTC suggests it wasn’t the kind that unsuspecting consumers bargained for when they forked over millions of dollars based on the defendants’ misleading promises about patenting and promoting their products. For FTC watchers, the opinion is a page-turner from start to finish. We...

Your company has a killer concept for an innovative app or a connected product and you’re in that initial blue-sky-and-whiteboard stage. You’ll have lots of opportunities to develop your distribution chain, create eye-catching ads, and start the social media buzz. But there’s one task that can’t wait. Now is the time to start with security – and that includes applying sound security practices when developing new products. Tech experts will tell...

If you have any influence over influencers, alert them to three developments, including the FTC’s first law enforcement action against individual online influencers for their role in misleading practices. According to the FTC, Trevor Martin and Thomas Cassell – known on their YouTube channels as TmarTn and Syndicate – deceptively endorsed the online gambling site CSGO Lotto without disclosing that they owned the company. Law enforcement Counter...

The Wizard of Oz was right: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” That’s because according to an FTC settlement, computer company Lenovo should have been paying attention to the “man in the middle.” In this case, the “man in the middle” was preloaded ad-injecting software that put consumers’ personal information at risk from harmful man-in-the-middle attacks. When people first browsed a shopping site with their new Lenovo computers...