Articles Posted in Technology in Business

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Wire Tapping vs. Browser Tracking?

Software like Meta Pixel and Google Analytics that website operators use to track what sites a person visits, or what footprint they leave on those sites, is not subject to the same restrictions as wiretapping a phone line, according to a split decision from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, in a case brought against two hospitals.

The court in Vita v. New England Baptist Hospital, et al (SJC-13542), ruled that wiretapping and browser tracking are categorically different pursuits, in its eyes, unless the state legislature decides otherwise. “If the Legislature intends for the Wiretap Act’s criminal and civil penalties to prohibit the tracking of a person’s browsing of, and interaction with, published information on websites, it must say so expressly,” wrote Associate Judge Scott Kafker in the opinion.

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Protecting Data while Working Remotely

Cyber Security Issues while working remotely.

Does your cyber liability insurance cover data breaches that occur while employees are working at home, using their personal devices such as tablets and laptops?

There’s no time like the present to look into this issue, with most employees telecommuting and hackers perhaps sensing new opportunities to do what they do—and in fact, cyber intrusions have been on the upswing in recent weeks.

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As Chicago area business litigation lawyers this is a question we frequently are asked.

E-Signatures in Illinois

Electronic Signatures are Enforceable under Illinois Laws. 

E-Signatures are permissible and valid in Illinois under the Illinois Electronic Commerce Security Act (the ECSA).

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If you’ve watched any of the Democratic presidential debates, you might have heard candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang – you know, the guy with the $1,000 per month guaranteed income plan – talk about something called the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”   This is a recognition that technology is imploding and changing everything about our lives.

4th-Industrial-Revolution-300x225In describing the ways social media and technology have redefined communication, in 2009 journalist Graeme Wood said that  “Change has never happened this fast before, and it will never be this slow again.”  

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, coined the phrase “fourth industrial revolution” in his 2016 best seller.  This is techie-speak for disruptive technologies and trends like robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the Internet of Things – i.e. everyday devices like doorbells and thermostats that you can control remotely – that are changing how we live and work.  This Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing together digital, physical and biological systems.  It will open up our minds to all kinds of new things:  Mobile supercomputing; Artificially-intelligent robots; Self-driving cars; Neuro-technological brain enhancements; Genetic editing.  We can see the evidence of these revolutionary changes all around us – and it’s happening faster and faster.

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Cryptocurrency has been a trending topic of discussion for the last several years. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have captured the public’s attention with their unstable, and highly fluctuating market values, as well as their promises for quick and easy rewards.

Geo Bellas Chicago Business Lawyer

Currency in the Digital World

But what exactly are cryptocurrencies? And how secure are they as an investment?     Questions such as these are precisely what Federal and State regulators, as well as Congress, are struggling to explore and answer.

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Bellas-Business-Lawyer-300x194Should your small business be dealing in the online currencies (“cryptocurrencies”) like Bitcoin? What are they, anyway, and what are the risks and benefits?

Bitcoin is what’s known as a “cryptocurrency,” a digital coin that buyers and sellers of goods and services can use to undertake transactions over the Internet such as restaurant bills and tuition fees. Bitcoin is not the only such cryptocurrency—Ethereum is another example—but it’s probably the best known.

One acquire Bitcoins in one of several ways: as payment for goods or services, by purchasing them at a Bitcoin exchange, by exchanging them with a willing partner, and through what’s called competitive mining, which involves using special software to solve math problems. They are stored in one’s encrypted online “wallet” and transmitted via a “blockchain” when a transaction is consummated, assuming the price of the good or service does not exceed the buyer’s available balance. One can convert Bitcoins to cash if another party agrees to buy them.

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