Privacy, Data Breach Legislation Unlikely in 2018, Security Firms Predict

Congress is unlikely to pass "meaningful" privacy or data breach legislation in a midterm election year, blogged Davis Wright. States may revive efforts to pass online privacy laws targeting ISPs as some attorneys general challenge the FCC's order eliminating net neutrality rules (see 1712210034), the firm said. Updates to state data breach notification laws also could be expected in 2018, it said, and outlook for security is grim as the firm sees data breach and ransomware threats likely to grow, putting pressure on legal and IT departments to develop coordinated defense strategies. Palo Alto Networks warned that the dangers of hackers skillfully manipulating data rather than just stealing it "are only just becoming clear," in a blog. Widespread denial-of-service attacks to block access to systems are fairly commonplace now, but the new -- and harder to manage -- threats come when intruders penetrate a system and modify data to cause reputational damage, invalidate data or steal for financial gain, said Palo Alto security expert Sean Duca. Every organization needs to inspect and verify who is accessing data and applications, said Duca. "Based on recent events, it’s foreseeable that someone will come looking for your information, but it’s up to you to manage the risk," he said.