The People's Bank of China will begin taking action against financial technology companies collecting and using personal data, the South China Morning Post reports. In an 8-minute keynote speech for Hong Kong's 2021 FinTech Week, the central bank's Governor Yi Gang said making stronger data protection is "an urgent matter" in light of companies collecting and leaking personal data. "We are cracking down on excessive collection of consumer data, and unfair practices that require customers to hand... Read More

Researchers at Manipal Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University and Yildiz Technical University created a model to analyze and classify sensitive financial documents, like bank statements or tax returns, while protecting users' privacy, Tech Xplore reports. Researcher Priyam Basu said the model uses differential privacy and federated learning to conceal individual elements of documents from those processing the data.Full Story... Read More

The top regulators in China vowed Friday to intensify their crackdown on cryptocurrency, implementing a ban on all crypto transactions and mining, Reuters reports. Ten Chinese authorities, including the central bank, banking, securities and foreign exchange regulators, said they will work together to stamp out "illegal" cryptocurrency practices. George Zarya, CEO of crypto exchange Bequant, said, unlike previous regulatory warnings, "This time the point was made very clear that China will not su... Read More

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is preparing a sanctions scheme to dissuade organizations from paying hackers, specifically those carrying out ransomware attacks, via cryptocurrency, The Wall Street Journal reports. In addition to new sanctions, the Biden administration plans to roll out new guidance to businesses on risks associated with executing ransomware payments that will include notice on potential fines and other penalties. Editor's note: The IAPP's Caitlin Fennessy, CIPP/US, offered... Read More

Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig asked for congressional authority to collect data on cryptocurrency transfers over $10,000, Reuters reports. Under the Biden administration’s 2022 revenue proposals, cryptocurrency transfers of $10,000 or more must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. “We get challenged frequently, and to have a clear dictate from Congress on the authority for us to collect that information is critic... Read More

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and other U.S. banks are expected to launch a pilot program sharing data on customers’ deposit accounts to improve their chances of obtaining a credit card, The Wall Street Journal reports. Ten banks have agreed to exchange data through the government-backed initiative, under which banks would consider account balances and overdraft histories. It is aimed at financially responsible individuals who lack credit scores.Full Story... Read More

A coalition of 21 financial technology companies wrote a letter to the U.S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calling for data access considerations with pending Dodd-Frank Act reform, Protocol reports. Fintech companies argued consumers are "impeded from accessing financial services they want to use" as banks and other financial institutions withhold data or place limits on data sharing. Credit Union National Association countered with concerns over potential mischaracterizations of fintech a... Read More

A once-in-a-century pandemic has upended countless aspects of our lives, jobs and economy. As much of the world grapples with a third wave of COVID-19 this winter, inundating hospitals and health organizations, another threat actor is upending businesses, governments and hospitals: ransomware.  Of course, ransomware is nothing new. The IAPP ran a four-part series on it back in 2016, but, according to a recent U.S. government interagency report, since 2016, there has been a 300% increase in inci... Read More

Amendments to Turkish Banking Law No. 5411 in February 2020 introduced important provisions regarding how banks handle confidential customer data. Based on these provisions, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency introduced a secondary regulation that was finalized in March, the Regulation on Banks’ Information Technology and Electronic Banking Services. This regulation contains binding provisions related to data processing and transferring of bank customers. Definition of customer confi... Read More

Researchers at Harvard University's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government released a report outlining potential updates to U.S. regulatory frameworks for consumer financial data privacy. In addition to examining consumer protections in existing laws, the report also includes a proposal for the Comprehensive Consumer Financial Data Act. The researchers explained the proposal aims "to model our optimal set of consumer rights and business requirements, balancing the appropriate tradeo... Read More

The Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs recently issued an EU General Data Protection Regulation guidebook addressed to financial technology companies. This is the third brochure published by the MDA’s Personal Data Protection Working Group this year, following one pertaining specifically to the health care sector and another one aimed generally toward entrepreneurs. In a 20-odd page document in the form of a Q&A, the MDA experts tackle several personal data-processing issues occurring in th... Read More

As time has passed, online shoppers have become more accepting of e-commerce, potentially storing their credit card information with 30 websites a year. That is the number Capital One Senior Vice President Tom Poole cited when discussing how e-commerce fraud has also risen as that level of comfortability has settled in. In order to help online consumers protect themselves from malicious actors, Capital One has developed Eno, an app its customers can use to produce virtual credit card numbers wh... Read More

Previous articles in this four-part series (see part one, two and three) have discussed the epidemic of ransomware, how it works, and the thorny question of whether to pay. What often catches organizations by surprise is not only the ease with which ransomware can bring operations to a halt, but the difficulty of paying the ransom if you determine that that is your best option. The currency of choice for cyber extortionists is Bitcoin, a digital, completely virtual form of money that can fluctua... Read More