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Information Security & Data Breach Report – March 2013 Update

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

We are pleased to share the March 2013 update of our Information Security & Data Breach Report, designed to keep the corporate and legal community apprised of new data breaches, spotlight notable breaches, and identify trends and other major changes taking place in the information security arena.

Key highlights from the November report's Data Breach Dashboard include:

The number of days between discovery and disclosure of Corporate breaches increased by 33 days from the prior FQA of 54 days.
Insurance & Finance was one of the most commonly breached industry groups across reporting periods (Q4: 56% vs. FQA: 30%).
The average number of records exposed was 14% below the four quarter average (Q4: 33,590 vs. FQA: 47,519).
There was a 45% decrease in the number of records breached between reporting periods (Q4: 1.55 million records vs. FQA: 2.83 million records).

How to Stay out of Trouble in Data Management Compliance – Top Tips from UBS

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0600

In this podcast, Navigant Managing Director Jim Vint speaks with Alex Laumans Executive Director, Global Legal & Compliance Control Framework at UBS, about data management and compliance challenges for international financial institutions. They discuss the current compliance concerns facing global financial institutions today, how the ongoing collaboration of regulators have either assisted or hindered in the compliance process, and a host of other pressing areas within the edisclosure space.

Click here to download the podcast.

Click here to download the transcript.

Theft of Trade Secrets – Is Your Company at Risk?

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Companies are increasingly faced with the problem of employee theft of confidential information and trade secrets. Capturing and preserving relevant data stores for forensic analysis is critical to mitigating damages and proving liability. Navigant provides a list of data sources that can provide key insights into an investigation.

Top 9 Benefits Offered to Customers/Employees Who Have Been Impacted by a Data Breach

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0500

There are many investigative and regulatory response challenges that may arise from a data breach or cybersecurity incident. Navigant offers guidance for what benefits are appropriate to offer employers or customers who may have been impacted by a breach.

Data Breach – What Are the Risks to My Company?

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In this article Navigant experts and Scott Richardson, Partner at Jaburg Wilk, discuss data breach risks, recent trends and the controls companies can have in place to protect against a potential breach.

Are Your Clients Prepared for the Risks Related to Cybersecurity Incidents?

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Recent news reports and high-profile data breaches confirm that valuable data and information are being increasingly targeted for theft. Navigant provides tips to help companies and their counsel mitigate the risk of an incident.

Information Security & Data Breach Report – July 2012 Update

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0500

We are pleased to share the July 2012 update of our Information Security & Data Breach Report, designed to keep the corporate and legal community apprised of new data breaches, spotlight notable breaches, and identify trends and other major changes taking place in the information security arena.

Key highlights from the July report's Data Breach Dashboard include:

Healthcare entities again accounted for the largest percentage of the data breaches identified in either quarter (Q2: 36% vs. Q1: 32%).
Government entities showed the only increase in the number of days between discovery and disclosure of a data breach, from 19 days to 46 days.
The most commonly breached Healthcare entities were Physicians’ Offices (39%) in Q1 and Clinics (33%) in Q2.
The average number of records per breach increased 129% from quarter to quarter (Q1: 41,880 vs. Q2: 95,961).
There was a 62% increase in the total number of records breached from quarter to quarter (Q1: 2.6 million records vs. Q2: 4.2 million records).

Webinar Replay: Patient Health Information Data Breach

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:40:00 -0500

Navigant and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman recently hosted a two-part webinar series on the prevention, planning and response to a patient health information data breach incident.

Click here to download the Part 1 webinar replay: Data Breach Introduction and Prevention Planning, Cyber Insurance Coverage

Click here to download the Part 2 webinar replay: Responding to a Data Breach Incident

Topics include:

Overview and implications of a data breach
PHI rules & regulations – HIPAA and HITECH
Cost of data breach
Cyber liability insurance coverage
Effective approaches to data breach response and notification

Speakers include:

Gerry Hinkley, Partner, Pillsbury
John Nicholson, Counsel, Pillsbury
Rene Siemens, Partner, Pillsbury
William Hardin, Director, Navigant
David Benkert, Director, Navigant
Steve Visser, Managing Director, Navigant
Gerry Hinkley, Partner, Pillsbury
Christine Scheuneman, Partner, Pillsbury

Collecting and Analyzing iPads: What You Need to Know

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Navigant’s Cuyler Robinson examines the challenges to collecting and analyzing potentially discovery-relevant business documents on iPads and tablets in this article for the ABA Section of Litigation, Technology for the Litigator newsletter.

Click here to read the full article.

U.S. Foodservice v. United States

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

In the featured article of the February 2012 issue of BNA’s Federal Contracts Report magazine, Pete McDonald of Navigant provides insights on the Most Favored Customer (‘‘MFC’’) clause in Federal Supply Schedule contracts. The General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule Program (MAS) has enabled government agencies to purchase a wide array of commercial products and services under Federal supply schedule contracts. Today, the MAS program is the largest interagency government contracting program and represents a significant part of the government’s annual budget.

Information Security & Data Breach Report – September 2011 Update

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Navigant is pleased to release the September 2011 update of its Information Security and Data Breach Report. The report is designed to keep the corporate and legal community apprised of new data breaches, spotlight notable breaches, and identify trends and other major changes taking place in the information security arena. Using news sources, press releases, government websites and proprietary resources, Navigant has gathered and analyzed information about U.S. data breaches disclosed in Q1 and Q2 of 2011.

Data Breach Dashboard

Corporate entities, for the first time since Navigant began to report on this topic, topped Healthcare entities in Q2 as the most common type of entity breached (35% vs. 34%).
There was a 70% increase in the number of records breached from quarter to quarter (Q1: 2.34 million records vs. Q2: 3.97 million records).
The average number of days between discovery and disclosure decreased across all categories except Education. “Other” entities showed the largest decrease from 54 days to 20 days. This was followed by Government entities from 49 to 24 days; Corporate from 40 to 30 days and Healthcare from 64 to 54 days. Education entities increased from quarter to quarter (Q1: 28 days to Q2: 32 days).
Theft, Public Access or Distribution, and Hacking accounted for more than 70% of all data breaches that occurred in either Q1 or Q2.
The average number of records breached per incident increased 42% from quarter to quarter (Q1: 44,985 vs. Q2: 64,078).
The average total cost of a data breach, according to Navigant’s analysis, increased from $9.63 million to $13.71 million.

GCS - Managing Contract Changes

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500

In this issue of Contract Management, Navigant and Dr. Rene G. Rendon, a member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, discuss managing contract changes, which is one of the most common challenges facing U.S. government agencies, government contractors, and subcontractors. The authors discuss the important role contract administration plays in successful project management and the fact that any changes to a project directly affect that project's cost, schedule, and performance requirements. As a result, it is important for all parties to develop an effective contract change control process. The article goes on to describe specific types of contract changes, the process for making those changes, and tools for controlling contract changes, including a contract change authority, a change control board, a contract manager's letter, and an advance change adjustment agreement. Finally, the authors offer several best practices for managing contracts effectively.

Collateral Damage: The Impact on Contractors of GAO's DCAA Reports

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0600

This white paper for the Bureau of National Affairs by Navigant's Peter A. McDonald, C.P.A., Esq., and John A. Howell, Esq. of Sullivan & Worcester LLP discusses two reports issued by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) addressing allegations that certain audits done by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) did not comport with generally accepted government auditing standards and discusses the collateral damage to contract administrators. Howell and McDonald point out the impact these reports may have on DCAA's relationship with government contractors. The writers conclude that DCAA's quality problems, including its decentralized structure, insular culture and lack of internal quality control system are so severe that the agency is currently unable to issue an audit report in accordance with professional standards, a development creates an incentive for contractors to attack adverse DCAA audit reports. Further, by encouraging policy complaints, the agency has impaired contract administration by usurping the role of the contracting officer.

Optimizing the U.S. Federal Government's Supply Chain(s)

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600

In this article, Navigant discusses the U.S. Government's need for a strong, viable and ethical supplier base to support its supply chain; provides insight into the current supply chain, including what it consists of, its structure, and its challenges; and offers recommendations for optimizing the U.S. Government's supply chain for the benefit of U.S. taxpayers, government agencies, and industry. The article provides detailed insight into the critical supply chain challenges facing the government--for example, because the government is not a business, the government must often put serving the needs of its citizens above cost-effective and efficient purchasing. The article's four recommendations for improving the U.S. government supply chain are designed to help the government use taxpayer dollars as wisely as possible.

Change Order Accounting

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

In an article for Contract Management, Jeffrey P. Hildebrant, Principle of Hildebrant & Associates and Navigant's Peter A. McDonald argue for the effectiveness and efficiency of change order accounting over alternatives, such as total cost accounting or estimating actual costs, when working with government contracts. Hildebrant and McDonald remind contractors that the burden of proof for filing requests for equitable adjustment (REA) is always with them and that good change order accounting provides the data contractors need. The method also helps contractors reconstruct records in the event of a natural disaster, equipment malfunction or procedural error. The writers also contend that government contract officers would benefit by requiring contractors to use change order accounting because its inclusion in a contract mitigates liability should an REA result in litigation. When contractors are not required to implement change order accounting, for example, then they are not required to support their claims with actual costs.

Report on Policies and Practices of State Attorneys General

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

This study, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, addresses issues surrounding the policies and practices of State Attorneys General (State AGs) in initiating and conducting investigations and litigation. With State AGs taking a more active role in targeting alleged wrongdoing, it is important to understand what specific policies and procedures govern such activities. This study report, based on a survey completed by 14 of 51 State AGs, discusses several key findings. For example, the survey found that most participating State AGs do not have set standards governing whether to launch an investigation but do have an official process for initiating an investigation. In addition, the majority of participating State AGs indicated having state laws or regulations governing public statements by their office regarding a pending investigation or ongoing litigation.

Bid/No-Bid Decision Making - Tools and Techniques

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0500

This white paper discusses how creating a simple, repeatable, and effective bid/no-bid decision-making process can help a company reduce costs and improve both revenues and profits. The paper offers ten elements of opportunity and ten elements of risk to consider when making bid/no-bid decisions and offers two case studies (IBM Global Services and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems) showing how this approach works in practice. From there, the paper offers a opportunity/risk assessment grid that companies can use to evaluate which available opportunities have the highest probability of success.

Subprime Mortgage and Related Litigation Study 2008: Seeking Relief

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:57:43 -0600

In this white paper, Navigant's Jeff Nielsen, along with Scott Paczosa and William Schoeffler, provide an in-depth analysis of the subprime mortgage and related civil litigation filed in U.S. federal courts during 2008. The 576 cases filed during 2008 are nearly double the number of 2007 filings and exceed the 559 cases filed following the savings-and-loan crisis in the 1990s. The analysis looks at the parties involved (the types of cases being filed, the status of the cases, who is being sued and who is filing the suits and where, and the specific claims being put forth) and categorizes them by type of case (borrower class actions, securities cases, commercial contract disputes, employment class actions, bankruptcy-related, and all others). The authors note that the ratio of new cases being filed to cases being disposed is more than two to one, creating a growing backlog that is likely to take years to work through.

Expert Witnesses in Class Certification Proceedings

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:17:16 -0600

In the American Bar Association's Class Actions Today, Navigant's David Gulley and co-authors Charles Denton and Josh Wallish (of Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett LLP) explore how the courts deal with expert testimony in class certification motions. The authors contend that courts often process testimony using a judicial framework that embraces the basic Daubert philosophy of reliability. The article explores court rulings in three areas: admission of expert testimony (re Terazosin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation), granting of class certification (Behrend v. Comcast Corp., Dukes v. Wal-Mart Inc., and In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation), and the denial of class certification (Vickers v. General Motors and Rodriguez-Feliciano v. Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority).

After a Loss Occurs

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:47:00 -0600

In this article for Risk Management magazine, Navigant's Paul Lux and Brad Murlick provides best practices that can help organizations succeed when collecting the necessary facts to file fidelity claims and recover losses from an insurer. It is important to note that organizations filing fidelity claims face unique challenges that generally do not come into play following traditional first party insurance losses. The authors suggest that risk managers understand the fidelity insurance coverage in place since specific policy provisions can have a material impact on an organization's ability to put together a strong claim and to obtain remediation. Other best practices focus on understanding whether recovery costs are included in coverage, offering supporting documentation of the intent to commit a fraudulent act, getting the right parties involved in documenting and supporting the loss and managing the legal authorities involved in any criminal investigations.

Handling Fraud Claims

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:49:38 -0600

In this Q&A for Risk Management magazine, Navigant's Paul Lux and Brad Murlick discuss the impact of the recession on internal fraud and how companies and their risk managers can handle any increase in internal fraud from a claims perspective. Lux and Murlick focus on the challenges unique to internal fraud claims given the involvement of law enforcement and the fact that fraud-related information itself tends to be hidden or non-existent. The conversation covers how to work effectively with law enforcement, what to expect in these situations, how to gather the necessary information to make fidelity claims, and whether a criminal charge must occur for an organization to move forward with a claim. The conversation ends with a discussion of what to look for when buying an insurance policy to cover fraud and how to deal with claim-related disputes.

The New Boards of Contract Appeals: Are They Still Predictable?

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:38:59 -0500

James Zack discusses a trend in Appeals Board rulings since the consolidation into 2 Boards.

Subprime Mortgage Litigation Filings Surpass S&L Benchmark

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:01:54 -0600

This document summarizes a Navigant study focused on litigation related to the subprime mortgage crisis. The study found that more subprime?related lawsuits were filed in the first half of 2008 than in all of 2007 and that the total number of subprime-related lawsuits exceeds the number of lawsuits resulting from the savings?and?loan scandal in the early 1990s. This legal activity is considered to be the high?water mark in terms of litigation fallout from a major financial crisis. The document quotes Navigant's Jeff Nielsen on the unprecedented scale of the crisis and the indications that legal activity may be slowing down, or as Nielsen calls it, �the end of the beginning.� However, Nielsen warns that the crisis remains fluid and new waves of litigation could still emerge.