Michigan man’s bid to overturn murder convictions halted
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man has lost his effort to reverse his murder and sexual assault convictions from the 1980s.
The Lansing State Journal reports that 54-year-old Michael Harris is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the 1981 killing of 77-year-old Ula Curdy. He is also serving life sentences in the deaths of three other Michigan women in 1981 and 1982.
DNA that didn’t match Harris was found on Curdy’s girdle in 2015. The evidence could’ve led to a new trial for Harris. But on Tuesday, an Ingham County Circuit Court judge denied the request for an evidentiary hearing after prosecutors said recent DNA testing found at the crime scene matched Harris.
Harris says he’s innocent and that the Michigan State Crime lab falsified DNA evidence.
ABA checklist offers guidelines to avoid cyber breaches
Costly and destructive cybersecurity breaches at companies such as Equifax in 2016 and Target in 2013 that exposed the personal data of millions of consumers were traced back to vulnerabilities unknowingly exposed by third-party vendors rather than the company itself, proving that cybersecurity is only as strong as its weakest link.
To help avoid and minimize the impact of such breaches, the American Bar Association Cybersecurity Legal Task Force has released its Vendor Contracting Project: Cybersecurity Checklist, which is available at no charge on the ABA website. The checklist is designed to manage cybersecurity risk when working with third-party vendors – from vendor selection, to contracting and vendor management.
The checklist provides guidance on:
• Conducting a risk management assessment of the proposed vendors, to identify relevant threats to security.
• Reviewing vendor security practices and the ability to follow them.
• The contracting process, including setting expectations, mitigating risk and allocating liability.
The document also includes information on critical elements needed in any security program, whether a vendor or the procuring organization.
Michigan Secretary of State appoints new elections director
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A longtime staffer at the Michigan Secretary of State’s office has been appointed director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced Wednesday that Sally Williams will replace Chris Thomas, who retires this week after 36 years as director.
Williams currently serves as the bureau’s Election Liaison Division director, assisting county clerks and local clerks in their election duties, and oversees training of local election officials. Before that, she was an assistant to the chief of staff and as a project manager.
Williams led the efforts of the Bureau of Elections when the state reviewed and selected vendors to supply new election equipment that will be in use statewide by August 2018.
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