FCC Expands Its Claim Of Data Security Authority With Recent Enforcement Action Against Cox Communications

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") reached a settlement with Cox Communications, Inc. ("Cox") regarding a 2014 data security breach that allegedly exposed the personal information of at least 54 current customers and seven former customers. The settlement requires Cox to pay $595,000 and undertake enhancements to its data security compliance program. The FCC's action against Cox is its first data security enforcement action involving a cable operator as well as its first action involving a hacking incident. Representing the FCC's third data security settlement in 2015, the Cox action signals that the agency's presence will continue to grow in a crowded field of regulators claiming authority in the privacy and data security space. Moreover, for the first time, the FCC imposed specific technological requirements on a company rather than merely requiring compliance with general data security standards. This use of specificity stands in marked contrast