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April 5, 2023 AI: Microsoft Launched Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot. It is designed to assist users when analyzing data and reports, creating presentations, and triaging and replying to emails which increases productivity. The system is customized to different MS 365 apps which means it has different ways to command it. Like the Bing Chat, Copilot uses the latest large language model from OpenAI which is on GPT-4 and also includes a security-specific model from Microsoft. Security Copilot will be available to 20 businesses and to enterprise customers before rolling out to consumers. Last week, Google also announced the integration of AI into its various Workspace apps, including Google Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and Slides. The announcement shows that the AI race has started and companies will soon be joining the tech giants in incorporating AI into their products. Events: Future Lawyer Week UK 6.0 and ILTA Webinar Future Lawyer UK 6.0 week will happen on April 24 - 26, 2023 at St Paul's, London. The 3-day event will feature speakers from legal professionals from Deloitte Legal, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Goldman Sachs, and Onfido. Attendees will also have an opportunity for networking, and attend workshops, presentations, and a hackathon. Register here. ILTA will be having a webinar "ILTA Product briefing: Compliant document and records management with NetDocuments and iCompli" where they will discuss the benefits of document and records management integration. The event will be on April 19, 2023, at 11:00 AM. Register here. InfiniGlobe is a consulting and software company that specializes in empowering corporate legal departments and law firms to maximize their technology investments. Reach out to us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

February 21, 2023 Illinois Supreme Court Favors Plaintiff on New BIPA Ruling In accordance with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the Illinois Supreme Court has made it clear that companies that fail to adhere strictly to the state's significant biometric law could face substantial damages. On February 17, 2023, the court decided that, in accordance with the law, damages will accumulate every time data is unlawfully obtained and shared, rather than simply the first time which is expected to more litigation. BIPA enforces the protection of the collection, use, and retention of biometric information. In order to collect such information, private entities must first provide notice to individuals and then obtain written consent for the collection of their biometric information from either the individual themselves or their authorized legal representative. In a recent ruling, the court voted 4-3 that favor the plaintiff. According to the statute's plain language, a new scan is acquired every time an employee's fingerprint is scanned and stored in the scanner's database. The defense argued that requiring informed consent for each scan would lead to an absurd outcome. The plaintiff, on the other hand, claimed that a single consent would be sufficient as long as the company's collection and disclosure practices remained unchanged. The key difference is that if a company fails to obtain informed consent initially, a violation of BIPA will occur every time they collect a scan without consent. New Health Breach Notification Rule of the Federal Trade Commission On February 1, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a first-of-its-kind proposed order (the “Order”) enforcing its Health Breach Notification Rule. This includes the failure to notify of a breach of consumers' personal health information. The order includes a $1.5 million civil penalty for violating the Rule for the healthcare entity’s disclosures of “sensitive personal health information” to Facebook, Google, Criteo, and other website tracking, marketing, and advertising vendors since at least 2017. Specifically, the FTC alleges that the healthcare entity in question shared personal health information with Facebook and Instagram to target ads and allowed third parties to use personal health information for their own purposes, including internal research, product development, and advertising improvements, among other alleged violations of FTC’s requirements. With the new order, a penalty of $1.5 million is being imposed on the healthcare entity for breaking the Rule by disclosing "sensitive personal health information" to various website tracking, marketing, and advertising vendors such as Facebook, Google, and Criteo, dating back to 2017 or earlier. According to the FTC, the healthcare entity that shared personal health information with Facebook and Instagram to facilitate targeted ads and enabled third-party entities to utilize personal health information for various purposes, including internal research, product development, and advertising improvements. These actions are among the alleged violations of the FTC's regulations. InfiniGlobe is a full-service consulting and software company. Our team of experts has 20+ years of industry experience working with top corporate legal departments and law firms. Contact us at info@infiniglobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

December 19, 2022 Compliance: UK Government Announces New Copyright Exception for Commercial Text and Data Mining Last year the UK Intellectual Property Office conducted a public consultation about artificial intelligence and its connection to patent and intellectual property laws. The consultation ended in January 2022. According to the organization, the consultation is supposed to advise the UK legislators on what to do regarding the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) which is a law they are planning to amend. Also, it cites that the main objective is "to incentivize investment in AI development and to promote the use of AI for public benefit, whilst enabling competitive markets, consumer choice and fair access to IP-protected goods for the benefit of society." After the consultation process, the government presented a new copyright and database rights exception that lets text and data mining for any reason intended. This also means the relieving of complex rightsholder claims at the input stage will no longer be a requirement. Cybersecurity: Massachusetts Establishes Cybersecurity Threat Response Team Governor Charlie Baker recently signed a new executive order introducing the Massachusetts Cyber Incident Response Team (MA-CIRT) which will be led by the state’s secretary of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS), Curt Wood. The EO signed, aims to strengthen the cybersecurity defense of the state of Massachusetts to “prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, and recover from”. The order includes: MA-CIRT is authorized to review cybersecurity threat information and vulnerabilities for executive department agencies and all other state agencies served by EOTSS. The development of a Cyber Incident Response Plan is to be created and maintained by MA-CIRT. A better process of exchange of information between the Commonwealth Fusion Center and the Commonwealth Security Operations Center when it comes to threats and incidents for cybersecurity. The InfiniGlobe team provides software technologies and consulting services for many Fortune 500 companies. Reach out to us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

December 12, 2022 Compliance: European Council Approves CSRD The European Council of the European Union approved new reporting requirements. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will push organizations to have more detailed information when it comes to their sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. With this new directive, investors and other stakeholders will be better acquainted when making decisions on sustainability issues. According to Josef Sikela, "The new rules will make more businesses accountable for their impact on society and will guide them towards an economy that benefits people and the environment. Data about the environmental and societal footprint would be publicly available to anyone interested in this footprint. " This will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union after the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council sign it. Then it will enter into force for 20 days and its implementation will occur 18 months later. Cybersecurity: FTC Orders Chegg to Improve Security Following several data breaches of Chegg Inc., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered the California-based company to improve its security. Chegg student services provider according to FTC has stored sensitive customer data which includes names, email, passwords, and employee information like Social Security numbers, bank account information, and driver’s license numbers in plain text on its network. They also accuse the company’s lax security practices which resulted in four different security data breaches. Settling the case, Chegg agreed to the following: A process on the personal information it collects and its deletion. Provide customer access to their information and an option to delete the data. Provide customers and employees with two-factor authentication or another authentication method to help protect their accounts. InfiniGlobe is a consulting and software company that specializes in helping corporate legal departments and law firms maximize their technology investments. Reach out to us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or (833) LGL-TECH.

December 5, 2022 Regulation: Australia Passed Bills with Tougher Penalties for Serious Data Breaches The Australian government passed a new stringent law that significantly increases the penalty for organizations that committed serious or repeated digital privacy breaches. After a recent ransomware attack in October 2022 where Australia's medical insurance company was targeted by hackers that resulted in 9.7 million customers' personal data being compromised and demand of AU$15 million (US $10 million) the bill aims to prevent these from happening. The office of the attorney general published a press release outlining the amendments applied under the Privacy Act 1988 which includes a penalty to whichever is the greater of: AU$50 million (US$ 33 million) 3 times the value of any benefit acquired through the misuse of information 30% of the involved company's adjusted turnover in the related period Other important changes are: The Australian Information Commissioner will have more authority to resolve data privacy breaches. Through the Notifiable Data Breaches, the Australian Information Commissioner will have the knowledge and understanding of information compromised when a breach occurs to assess the risk. Improve the information-sharing powers of the Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Events: The Second World Legal Design & Innovation Summit This week the 2nd World Legal Design & Innovation Summit will be held from December 8 and 9, 2022. The exciting new event will be held in Hotel Bristol Berlin, Germany, and aims to help change the legal tech industry by talking about legal design thinking, different legal technologies & innovation, contract visualization techniques, and user-centered solutions. Speakers include industry professionals from international companies who will share their knowledge and discuss the newest trends and legal innovations. Register here. InfiniGlobe is a full-service consulting and software company. We have 20+ years of industry experience working with top corporate legal departments and law firms. Contact us at info@infiniglobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

November 28, 2022 Report: Cloud Migration In Public Services Cloud migration was boosted during the pandemic which triggered businesses to speed up the pace of enterprise digitization. It opened up new methods to do work. However, challenges arise when a new solution emerges and, in this case, many are still in legacy technical debt, have security concerns, and have uncertainty in adoption. A report from Accenture provides perspectives to provide tools about cloud migration and its ultimate outcome for business leaders by examining public services. Below shows the highlights of the report: 57% of public service executives believe that investing in the cloud is a top priority. 41% of public service responded that AI and machine learning will be the biggest drivers for computing resources in the next few years. 83% of public service agency leaders strongly agree or agree that the cloud is needed for innovation. 72% of public service leaders predict that their need for computing capacity will more than double in the next 2-3 years. 24% of public service leaders are unsure they’ve been able to use multi-cloud deployments to their fullest potential. 80% of public service leaders agree or strongly agree that the cloud has made work interesting and analytical by automating tasks. Event: Legal Tech Webinars Next month, there will be several webinars for legal tech professionals starting with Uncovering the AI Legal Tech Adoption Journey in Germany which will be on December 1, 2022, at 3 pm CET. Speakers will talk about the challenges faced when adopting legal tech, tips to avoid mistakes when introducing new tech to your department and share best practices for effective adoption. Register here. On December 5, 2022, at 5 pm GMT, a webinar on compliance and data privacy will be held. Following the legislation combatting security threats, the webinar will help organizations manage data while being compliant with these laws. Register here. InfiniGlobe is a full-service consulting and software company. Our team of experts has 20+ years of industry experience working with top corporate legal departments and law firms. Contact us at info@infiniglobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

November 14, 2022 Regulation: Google To Pay nearly $400 Million To Settle State Location-Tracking Probe Google has agreed to pay the settlement amounting to $391.5 million to resolve the investigation following the complaints from 40 states about the company’s location-tracking practices. In 2018, an Associated Press published an article that uncovered that regardless if users turn off “Location History” in settings, Google will still track its users' whereabouts. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson led negotiations in what states officials call one of the largest privacy settlements in US history. In addition to the payment, the tech giant is also required to disclose to its consumers that they are being tracked and clear information about Google's location-tracking data on a special web page. Report: The State of Small Law Firms The pandemic added a different kind of ordeal for the legal industry to enable business resilience. Most organizations have shifted to virtual operations to adapt to the changes. In spite of the dire situation everyone has experienced for the past few years, the report from Thomson Reuters showed that small law firms still look at the future positively. The Report on the State of US Small Law Firms provides an update on the current state of the industry through the lens of small firms. Below are the highlights: 80% said that spending too much time on administrative tasks provided a moderate challenge. 56% of average small law firm attorney spends their time practicing law. 92% of larger small firms believe that identifying cost controls is a moderate or significant challenge. 82% of respondents are not taking action with their administrative problems while 74% do not address their business development problem despite it topping the list of challenges small law firms face. 67% answered that a price increase will likely or probably happen over the next year. 97% responded that they are either planning to increase or retain their technology investment over the year. InfiniGlobe, a full-service consulting and software company, specializes in systems integration and performance optimization of top corporate legal departments and law firms. For more information, reach out to us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

November 7, 2022 In a corporate legal department, contact cards for firms, vendors, courts, and other third parties are crucial to countless workflows and to running day-to-day operations. These contacts (often numbering in the tens to hundreds of thousands) are stored in their ELM (Enterprise Legal Management) system, and when not regularly managed, often build over time into hundreds of duplicate contacts resulting in confusion and data quality problems. We have seen this happen time and time again in law departments across the world. Download this case study to learn how we helped a major US healthcare company identify duplicate contacts, merge their relations, and clean up data in TeamConnect. If you would like to learn more about IG Insight’s TheDup, our contact cleanup tool, reach out to us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or (833) LGL-TECH.

November 7, 2022 Cybersecurity: SolarWinds May Face SEC Investigation Over Hack Disclosure Following the massive SolarWinds incident in January 2021, the company has agreed to pay $26 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges it violated U.S. securities law “with respect to its cybersecurity disclosures and public statements, as well as its internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures.” The software company provided the details of the settlement on Nov. 3 and also warned it has received notice from the SEC that the regulator has made a preliminary decision to file an enforcement action against the company over the cyber breach. SolarWinds did not recognize any faults on its side and in the shareholder lawsuit, it is alleged that the company deceived them about its weak security practices at the time of the attack. According to an 8-K filing with the SEC, the amount will be paid by the company’s insurers who authorized and approved the sum. Events: Spotlight on Proptech and Legal Innovators UK 3.0 Litera will have a webinar called “Spotlight on Proptech: Regulatory Change and its Impact on Businesses” on November 9, 2022, from 5 am to 6 am PST. Topics will include the role of technology in venture capital during economic downturns, opportunities for real estate and technology in the legal space, and Proptech. Speakers will include David Richardson, Ari Kaplan, Mark Woods, and Alex Lykken. You can register here. Legal Innovators UK 3.0 will bring legal professionals together on the 10th and 11th of November 2022 at etc. venues at 133 Houndsditch, London. Speakers will include Artificial Lawyer founder, Richard Tromans also COO of TLB, Roisin Noonan, and many more. You can see more details here. The InfiniGlobe team provides software technologies and consulting services for many Fortune 500 companies. Reach out to us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.

October 31, 2022 Cybersecurity: Media Giant Exposed 3TB+ of Sensitive Data International Media company, Thomson Reuters, left its three databases open which exposed 3TB of sensitive data including plaintext passwords to third-party servers, according to research from cybernews. The research revealed that the open database size implies that it was one that allows the use of Elasticsearch. The Cybernews team believes that the exposed data, "would be worth millions of dollars on underground criminal forums because of the potential access it could give to other systems". According to the researchers, they contacted Thomson Reuters when they discovered the leaking database. The media company took down the open instance immediately. Compliance: FTC Penalized Drizly and CEO Over a Data Breach On Monday, a press release from Federal Trade Commission revealed that they are settling a case that will bring individual sanctions against the online platform Drizly and its CEO for a data breach. The incident occurred in July 2020, when the personal information of its 2.5 million consumers was exposed. The FTC alleges that: Drizly broke the law by not following their commitment to improving their security after the 2018 incident. Drizly’s CEO broke the law when he took shortcuts in the company’s security. The proposed order will enforce CEO James Cory Rellas to implement a security program at any company he leads that collects consumer information from more than 25,000 individuals. While Drizly needs to: Delete all unnecessary data which will be reported to FTC. Collection of data should be limited to only what is necessary. Implement an information security program. Obtain third-party biennial security assessments. InfiniGlobe helps legal departments maximize their technology investments with simple and useful technology. Discuss us your goals or suggestions, email us at info@infiniglobe.com or call us (833) LGL-TECH.