Ted Augustinos Quoted by Law360 on Implications of New York’s SHIELD Act Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Hartford Office Managing Partner Ted Augustinos, a member of the steering committee of Locke Lord’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group, was quoted throughout a Law30 article on New York’s recently passed SHIELD Act and its implications as cyberattacks related to the COVID-19 pandemic surge. He spoke to the expectation that New York Attorney General Letitia James will move forward with increased scrutiny of companies concerning whether they are adequately securing their customers’ data.

"I would expect we'll see more interest, more follow-up questions and potentially more enforcement actions from the attorney general moving forward," he said.

Augustinos also emphasized the need for companies to assess the requirements of relevant laws and regulations and proactively enhance their cybersecurity efforts.

"The threats have not abated because of the pandemic and the interest of enforcement agencies won't abate because of the pandemic, so companies really need to forge ahead," Augustinos said.

"I'm not sure anyone is expecting the pandemic to be a good excuse for taking their foot off the gas on cybersecurity or for getting to it later," he added.

The article also discusses the SHIELD Act’s provision stating that incidents where data has been viewed without authorization may now trigger a breach notification, instead of only incidents where it has been acquired.

"Companies will need to think hard about what information's been accessed and how likely it is that the incident exposed the information or individuals to harm," Augustinos said.

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