Comment Period on Proposed HIPAA Privacy Rule Changes Extended by 45 Days
Changes to the HIPAA Rules are infrequent, so when updates are proposed they tend to include a slew of new requirements and updates to existing provisions. Before any updates are made, a request for...
View ArticleMultistate Settlement Resolves 2019 American Medical Collection Agency Data...
A coalition of 41 state Attorneys General has agreed to settle an investigation into Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau dba American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) over a 2019 data breach that...
View ArticleHackers Access Live Feeds and Archived Footage from 150,000 Verkada Security...
A hacking collective has gained access to the systems of the Californian security camera startup Verkada Inc. and the live feeds and archived footage from almost 150,000 cloud-connected surveillance...
View Article2020 Saw Major Increase in Healthcare Hacking Incidents and Insider Breaches
2021 was a challenging year for healthcare organizations. Not only was the industry on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19, hackers who took advantage of overrun hospitals to steal data and...
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February 2021 Healthcare Data Breach Report
The was a 40.63% increase in reported data breaches of 500 or more healthcare records in February 2021. 45 data breaches were reported to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil...
View ArticleIranian APT Group Linked to Spear Phishing Campaign Targeting Senior Staffers...
Security firm Proofpoint reports that the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group Charming Kitten was behind a spear phishing campaign in late 2020 targeting senior professionals at medical research...
View ArticleWhat is Texas HB 300?
What is Texas HB 300, who is required to comply with the legislation, and what are the penalties for noncompliance? This article answers these and other important questions about Texas HB 300. What is...
View ArticleHIPAA Social Media Rules
HIPAA was enacted several years before social media networks such as Facebook were launched, so there are no specific HIPAA social media rules; however, there are HIPAA laws and standards that apply to...
View ArticleIs it a HIPAA Violation to Email Patient Names?
We have been asked is it a HIPAA violation to email patient names and other protected health information? In answer to this and similar questions, we will clarify how HIPAA relates to email and explain...
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What is a HIPAA Violation?
Barely a day goes by without a news report of a hospital, health plan, or healthcare professional violating HIPAA, but what is a HIPAA violation and what happens when a violation occurs? What is a...
View ArticleWhat is the Relationship Between HITECH, HIPAA, and Electronic Health and...
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law in August 1996, and was updated by the HIPAA Privacy Rule in 2003 and the HIPAA Security Rule in 2005, but how did...
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March 2021 Healthcare Data Breach Report
There was a 38.8% increase in reported healthcare data breaches in March. 62 breaches of 500 or more records reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights, with hacking incidents dominating the breach...
View ArticleNetwork Intrusions and Ransomware Attacks Overtake Phishing as Main Breach Cause
Network intrusion incidents have overtaken phishing as the leading cause of healthcare data security incidents, which has been the main cause of data breaches for the past 5 years. In 2020, 58% of the...
View ArticleSurvey Reveals Sharing EHR Passwords is Commonplace
While data on the practice of password sharing in healthcare is limited, one survey suggests the practice of sharing EHR passwords is commonplace, especially with interns, medical students, and nurses....
View ArticleHealthcare Groups Raise Concern About the Proposed HIPAA Privacy Rule Changes
Several healthcare groups have expressed concern about the HIPAA Privacy Rule changes proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in December 2020 and published in the Federal...
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Verizon: Healthcare Phishing and Ransomware Attacks Increase while Insider...
2020 was certainly not a typical year. The pandemic placed huge pressures on IT security teams and businesses were forced to rapidly accelerate their digital transformation plans and massively expand...
View ArticleWhat is HIPAA Certification?
A frequently asked question in the healthcare industry is what is HIPAA certification; for although there is no standard or implementation specification within HIPAA that requires Covered Entities or...
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April 2021 Healthcare Data Breach Report
April was another particularly bad month for healthcare data breaches with 62 reported breaches of 500 or – the same number as March 2021. That is more than 2 reported healthcare data breaches every...
View ArticleRansomware Gangs Adopt Triple Extortion Tactics
Following on from the DarkSide ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, several ransomware threat actors have ceased activity or have implemented rules that their affiliates must follow, including...
View ArticleBest Password Manager for the Healthcare Industry
In this post we explore some of the leading solutions to find the best password manager for the healthcare industry – One that is easy to use, reasonably priced and, most importantly considering the...
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