Cybersecurity And Privacy Issues In The Time Of COVID-19

American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Committee News
Fall 2020

The current COVID-19 pandemic raises some significant issues and risks relating to cybersecurity and data privacy in the US that should be considered carefully and addressed appropriately. Concerns range from cybercriminals targeting a newly remote workforce with clever phishing scams that prey on the environment of uncertainty, to worries that the crisis will give cover to expanded and potentially problematic uses of technologies such as geolocation and facial recognition. Many businesses are unsure of whether and how to collect and disclose their employees’ health information under applicable privacy laws during an outbreak of infectious disease. In this article, Glenn Brown and Kristin Bryan explore such data protection-related issues facing businesses as well as some guidance on potential mitigation. (pp. 1, 17-20)