Obama Nominates SOPA Lobbyist for TPP Trade Post
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Holleyman will help lead the effort to pass the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Notably, Holleyman is a former lobbyist who led efforts to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act legislation, better known as SOPA, when he was leader of the Business Software Alliance. The SOPA debate (along with its sister legislation, PROTECT-IP, in the Senate) brought a spotlight on industry efforts to undermine Internet freedom through what many considered to be draconian intellectual property policy. Critics have pointed out, the leaked TPP documents relating to TPP negotiations reveal that the U.S. is seeking to resurrect portions of the SOPA bill through the TPP, namely, holding Internet Service Providers liable for hosting copyright infringement and extending the copyright life of certain corporate-owned copyrights. As Washington Postblogger Henry Farrell noted, the proposed TPP provisions suggest the deal will advance intellectual property rules that “could not [be] achieved through an open democratic process.”Read More!
Cyberattacks Are Equal Opportunity Threats
You may think that most cyberattacks happen to for-profit businesses and government agencies. But don't be lulled into a false sense of security; when it comes to collecting and storing valuable data, many trade associations and nonprofits could give a like-sized corporation a run for its money. However it happens, a security breach can compromise the personal information of your employees or members, have drastic effects on your nonprofit mission, and push you into the blinding glare of a viral media storm – responding to accusations, fending off the press, and struggling to bolster customer confidence, comply with legal requirements and avoid lawsuits, money damages and enforcement actions. How could this happen to you? Easily. A laptop is stolen from an employee's car. A compact disc is lost in transit. A disgruntled employee walks off with association financial data – including member credit card information – on a flash drive. Students at a local school get unauthorized access to the IT system. A member's Social Security number is visible through the window on an envelope. A hacker taps into your technology system. Your cloud vendor suffers a security breach. However it happens, a security breach can compromise the personal information of your employees and members and have drastic effects on your association, leaving you stunned and the world angry at you. While many of the U.S. federal privacy laws have been around for years and were designed to protect limited kinds of information, more recent "data security breach laws" adopted in most U.S. states and territories tend to be broader and to govern any business – for-profit or not – that holds the personal information of a resident from a particular state. If your business has not yet suffered a security breach, count yourself lucky – the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse now conservatively estimates that a whopping 230 million records have been compromised since January 2005. But don't count your blessings for too long; instead, spend your time wisely by preparing for the worst. Doing so will help you minimize the likelihood of a breach by bolstering your security systems and policies, ensure that you comply with applicable state data security breach laws (and any other applicable U.S. or international privacy laws), and establish safeguards and plans that will bolster customer confidence, both in good times and in bad. Make no mistake, prevention and planning for a security breach can be a big and complex job, but so are the stakes. Here is a four-step prevention and planning process: Read More!
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