GRC Report Staff

‍Vodafone is facing a €45 million penalty after the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI), led by Prof. Dr. Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider, uncovered several significant data protection shortcomings. These issues, ranging from security flaws in its online systems to fraud committed by partner agencies, have put the telecom giant under scrutiny. Here's a deeper dive into the details, the actions taken, and what this means for the company going forward.

Anecdotes, an AI-powered Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform, has announced the successful closing of its expanded Series B funding round, raising an additional $30 million to bring the total funding for the round to $55 million. The extended round was led by DTCP, following an initial $25 million raised from Glilot, Vertex, and Red Dot. With this latest infusion of capital, Anecdotes has now raised a total of $85 million to date.

Luxury fashion brand Cartier has confirmed a data breach after hackers gained unauthorized access to its systems, exposing a limited amount of customer information. The company issued a notification to affected customers, revealing that personal data, including names, email addresses, and countries of residence, had been compromised. However, Cartier assured that no more sensitive information, such as passwords or payment details, was exposed in the attack.

Lockheed Martin, one of the largest defense contractors in the world, has agreed to settle allegations under the False Claims Act by paying $29.74 million. This settlement addresses accusations of defective pricing practices in contracts related to the production and maintenance of its F-35 fighter jets. The settlement adds to the $11.3 million Lockheed Martin already paid to the Department of Defense (DOD) for similar pricing issues in these same contracts.

Compyl, a provider of unified Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) solutions, has recently announced it has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Venture Guides, with participation from existing investors including Contour Venture Partners, Armory Square Ventures, nvp capital, Alpine Meridian Ventures, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, and Zelkova Ventures.

Google is making a major move to address legal concerns and ramp up its internal governance. The tech giant has agreed to spend $500 million over the next 10 years to overhaul its compliance structure, as part of a settlement with shareholders. This lawsuit, initially filed by a Michigan pension fund in 2021, accused Google of violating antitrust laws, claiming the company’s online advertising practices were monopolistic and anticompetitive.

North Face has recently informed its customers of a breach that exposed personal information after a credential stuffing attack targeted their website, thenorthface.com. This marks the fourth time the company has faced such an attack, and while no payment card details were affected, this incident serves as another reminder of the risks we face in today’s interconnected world.