Ludwig & Robinson PLLC » American Bar Association

Salvatore Scanio’s Article on the NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law Published by ABA’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee

Ludwig & Robinson PLLC — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 23:15:23 +0000

Salvatore Scanio’s article, NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law: Key Provisions and Adoption to Date, was recently published by the American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee (Winter 2021). The NAIC Model, issued in October 2017, generally requires insurers, agents, and other entities licensed by a state department of insurance to develop, implement, and maintain an information security program, investigate any cybersecurity events, and notify the state insurance commissioner of such events. Eleven states, including three in 2020, have adopted the NAIC Model.

FinCEN Advisory Highlights Cybercriminals Exploiting COVID-19 Pandemic for Funds Transfer Fraud

Ludwig & Robinson PLLC — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 03:08:42 +0000

In a continuing trend of regulatory pronouncements in the area, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recent issued an Advisory on Cybercrime and Cyber-Enabled Crime Exploiting the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, FIN-2020-A005 (July 30, 2020).

The Advisory highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic is being exploited in “cyber-enabled crime through malware and phishing schemes, extortion, business email compromise (BEC) fraud, and exploitation of remote applications.” FinCEN identifies numerous “red flag indicators of COVID-19 cyber-enabled crimes to assist financial institutions in detecting, preventing, and reporting suspicious transactions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

At the same time, FinCEN warns financial institutions they should continue to “consider additional contextual information and the surrounding facts and circumstances, such as a customer’s historical financial activity, whether the transactions are in line with prevailing business practices, and whether the customer exhibits multiple indicators, before determining if a transaction is suspicious or otherwise indicative of potential fraudulent COVID-19-related activities.” In other words, fundamental, long-established signs of suspicious activity apply equally, if not more so, in the COVID-19 era.

The impact of COVID-19 on funds transfer schemes was recently reviewed in an ABA webinar Salvatore Scanio presented with Ben Wallach, Cybercrime and Funds Transfer Fund – Recent Developments.

Salvatore Scanio presented an American Bar Association webinar on Cybercrime and Funds Transfer Fraud – Recent Developments

Ludwig & Robinson PLLC — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 19:46:21 +0000

On October 21, 2020, Salvatore Scanio presented an American Bar Association webinar on Cybercrime and Funds Transfer Fund – Recent Developments. The well-attended program was sponsored by the Banking Law and Cyberspace Law committees of the ABA’s Business Law Section. He was joined by Ben Wallach, a banking industry fraud and cyber executive.

The lively program discussed the latest trends in cybercrime involving fraudulent funds transfers. They reviewed recent funds transfer schemes, including those arising as a result of the COVID-19 era. The program discussed the latest developments in the legal regime applicable to fraudulent ACH and wire transfers, and explained the allocation of liability in such cases. They also addressed schemes involving law firms. The webinar featured numerous questions and answers throughout the event.

For a copy of the program materials, please contact Salvatore Scanio at sscanio@ludwigrobinson.com.