Photo of Sadia Mirza

Sadia leads the firm’s Incidents + Investigations team, advising clients on all aspects of data security and privacy issues. She is the first point of contact when a security incident or data breach is suspected, and plays a central role in her clients’ cybersecurity strategies.

Without a doubt, data privacy took center stage in 2018. The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2018, and California quickly followed suit with its own privacy protection law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). The CCPA greatly expands privacy protections for California residents by providing

On January 28, Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, issued four decisions on motions to dismiss in cases arising out of the Equifax data breach. Below are a few noteworthy takeaways. 

Factual Background

From mid-May through the end of July 2017, hackers

Over the last few years, an increased focus continues on the right to privacy and the debate on how to best implement privacy tools that are balanced with business and technological innovation.  In the United States, the debate to adopt policies like those in the European Union has recently intensified as consumer advocates view data

Your diet and fitness goals are not the only things scheduled to change come the New Year.  On April 10, 2018, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2177, which modified provisions applicable to consumer security freezes and personal information security breach protection.  The Act, which goes into full effect on January 1, was

Finally, at last, the end may be near,
For the multiple class actions that Yahoo did bear.
Arising from three data breaches that occurred in the past,
A proposed settlement has been reached, let’s start with the class.  

The proposed settlement class under Rule 23,
Includes residents and small businesses, both U.S.

In the last few years, the right to privacy debate in the United States has increased in pace and volume. One issue at the center of this long debate is how best to implement the right privacy tools in a manner that does not disrupt business and technological innovation. The current criticisms fail to appreciate

Clarity on Overlapping Background Check Laws in California

By Timothy St. George, David Anthony, Ronald Raether, Jonathan Yee and Sadia Mirza

On Aug. 20, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited order in Connor v. First Student Inc., finding the state’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, or ICRAA, was not unconstitutionally vague as applied

On August 20, 2018, the Supreme Court of California issued its long-awaited order in Connor v. First Student, Inc. finding the state’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (“ICRAA”) was not unconstitutionally vague as applied to employer background checks, despite overlap with the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (“CCRAA”). See Connor v. First Student, Inc., No.

On May 22, Vermont passed the nation’s most expansive data broker legislation in an effort to provide consumers with more information about data brokers, their data collection practices, and consumers’ right to opt out.

The legislation, which in part takes effect on January 1, 2019, defines “data brokers” to mean “a business … that knowingly