U.S. Healthcare Providers Affected by Global Ransomware Attack
NotPetya ransomware attacks have spread to the U.S. Decryption may not be possible even if the ransom is paid. Details of how to prevent attacks are detailed below. NotPetya Ransomware Attacks Spread...
View ArticleDelaware Data Breach Notification Law to be Strengthened
Delaware data breach notification law is likely to be expanded to include medical information in the definition of personal information. The data breach notification law in Delaware has remained...
View ArticleOffice of Inspector General Releases Results of VA FISMA Audit
The Department of Veteran Affairs’ Office of Inspector General has conducted its annual security review of the VA, the largest healthcare provider in the United States. The aim of the security review...
View ArticleAMIA Urges HHS to Provide More Information on Common Rule Updates
The Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, otherwise known as the Common Rule, was first adopted in 1991; however, there have been numerous calls for the policy to be updated. The purpose...
View ArticleIndiana Senate Passes New Law on Abandoned Medical Records
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires healthcare providers (and other covered entities) to implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to...
View ArticleUniversity of Iowa Health Care Discovers PHI Was Exposed Online for 2 Years
University of Iowa Health Care has discovered patient information has been accidentally exposed on the Internet for a period of around 2 years. The exposed data was limited and did not include any...
View ArticleFunding for ONC Office of the Chief Privacy Officer to be Withdrawn in 2018
The cuts to the budget of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) mean the agency must make some big changes, one of which will be the withdrawal of funding for...
View ArticleU.S. Data Breaches Hit Record High
Hacking still the biggest cause of data breaches and the breach count has risen once again in 2017, according to a new report released by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and CyberScout. In...
View ArticleOCR Data Breach Portal Update Highlights Breaches Under Investigation
Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed it was mulling over updating its data breach portal – commonly referred to as the OCR ‘Wall of Shame’. Section 13402(e)(4) of the...
View ArticleSurvey Shows Only a Quarter of Hospitals Have Implemented a Secure Text...
The use of secure text messaging platforms in healthcare has grown over the past few years, although a recent survey published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine suggests adoption of HIPAA-compliant...
View Article47% of Healthcare Organizations Have Experienced A HIPAA Data Breach in the...
The KPMG 2017 Cyber Healthcare & Life Sciences Survey shows there has been a 10 percentage point increase in reported HIPAA data breaches in the past two years. The survey was conducted on 100...
View ArticleProtenus Provides Insight into 2017 Healthcare Data Breach Trends
Protenus, in conjunction with Databreaches.net, has produced its Breach Barometer mid-year review. The report covers all healthcare data breaches reported over the past 6 months and provides valuable...
View ArticleMedical Device Cybersecurity Act Takes Aim at Medical Device Security
A new bill has been introduced in Congress that aims to ensure the confidential medical information of patients on medical devices is protected and security is improved to make the devices more...
View ArticleHITRUST and Trend Micro Join Forces to Improve Organizational Cyber Threat...
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) has announced a new partnership with Trend Micro. The aim of the partnership is to speed the delivery of cyber threat research and education and improve...
View ArticleU.S. Senate Passes Jessie’s Law to Help Prevent Drug Overdoses
West Virginia senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito have announced that Jessie’s Law has been passed by the Senate. The legislation is intended to ensure doctors are provided with details of a...
View ArticleDocuments Containing PII Discovered in Used Office Furniture
Prior to disposing or selling office furniture, HIPAA-covered entities should ensure that all drawers and compartments are inspected for any stray documents containing sensitive information. The...
View ArticleWant to Prevent Data Breaches? Time to Go Back to Basics
Intrusion detection systems, next generation firewalls, insider threat management solutions and data encryption will all help healthcare organizations minimize risk, prevent security breaches, and...
View ArticleHealthcare Hacking Incidents Overtook Insider Breaches in July
Throughout 2017, the leading cause of healthcare data breaches has been insiders; however, in July hacking incidents dominated the breach reports. Almost half of the breaches (17 incidents) reported in...
View ArticleNIST Updates Digital Identity Guidelines and Tweaks Password Advice
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated its Digital Identity Guidelines (NIST Special Publication 800-63B), which includes revisions to its advice on the creation and...
View ArticleLawsuit Filed Against Aetna for Disclosure of HIV Status of Patients
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Aetna following a privacy breach that saw the HIV positive status of up to 12,000 individuals impermissibly disclosed. The incident occurred during a...
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