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Background for this topic.
A fine is a monetary penalty imposed by a competent authority or court for violating a law, regulation, or legally binding requirement. In information security and privacy, it may follow inadequate safeguards for personal data, unlawful processing, failure to meet required reporting or record-keeping duties, or non-compliance with sector-specific controls. The legal basis, maximum amount, and factors such as severity, duration, negligence, cooperation, and remediation vary by jurisdiction; a fine is generally punitive rather than compensation for affected parties.
For security practitioners, a fine signals that controls and security decisions may be examined as evidence of compliance. Maintain documented risk assessments, access reviews, patching decisions, supplier oversight, logging, and retention practices, especially where they protect regulated data. During an incident, preserve relevant records and establish an accurate timeline for containment, notification, and remediation. Privacy requirements such as data minimization and retention limits can therefore be security controls as well as legal obligations. A fine does not by itself establish that a particular attack or breach occurred.
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland has fined Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (MPIL) €91 million ($100 million) for storing in plaintext passwords of hundreds of millions of users. [...]
Fine Is For 2019 Disclosure That Meta Stored User Passwords In PlaintextThe Irish data regulator fined social media giant Meta 91 million euros after an investigation found the company insecurely stored passwords of millions of European Facebook and Instagram users. A Meta spokesperson said the company identified the problem in 2019 and took "immediate action."
Senate Bill Would Mean Cyber Funding for Hospitals, Prison Time for Lying CEOsTwo U.S. senators are proposing stricter cyber mandates for the healthcare sector. The bill provides funding to help hospitals adopt enhanced requirements, but lifts HIPAA enforcement fine caps and threatens executives with prison time for falsely attesting their organizations' compliance in audits.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission fines Meta Platforms €91 million for mishandling user passwords and GDPR violations
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