Sensitive Health Information Shared in Facebook Closed Groups Allegedly Exposed
A complaint has been submitted to the FTC alleging Facebook as engaged in deceptive practices and has [...]
Everything you need to know about HIPAA
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Cottage Health to Pay $3 Million to Resolve HIPAA Violation Case
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has agreed to settle a HIPAA [...]
Almost 1 Million Patients of UW Medicine Have PHI Exposed Online
The accidental removal of protections on a UW Medicine website server resulted in the protected health [...]
New Free Decryptor for GandCrab Ransomware v5.1 Now Available
The Romanian police has developed a new free decryptor for GandCrab ransomware, assisted by [...]
Report Reveals 473% Increase in Healthcare Email Fraud Attacks in 2 Years
Proofpoint revealed in its recent healthcare email security report that there has been a 473% increase in [...]
German Bundeskartellamt Restricts Data Gathering by Facebook
Last week, Bundeskartellamt, the German antitrust authority, determined that Facebook somewhat abuses its [...]
Business Associate Notified Patients of PHI Theft 8 Months After Discovery of a Data Breach
Sharecare Health Data Services (SHDS) provides secure healthcare records management services to healthcare [...]
PHI of 30,000 Memorial Hospital Patients and 5,524 AZ Plastic Surgery Center Patients Breached
Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Mississippi, is informing around 30,000 patients that unauthorized persons [...]
OIG Audit Findings of National Institutes of Health
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report of the [...]
42,000 Patients Impacted by 16-Month Malware Attack on Florida Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine Center
The AdventHealth Medical Group Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine in Tavares, Florida, previously called Lake [...]
March 1, 2019 is the Last Day for Submitting Small Healthcare Data Breach Reports
The deadline for submitting 2018 data breach reports for breaches that have affected fewer than 500 [...]
Massive Annual Increase in Exposed Healthcare Records
2018 saw a massive increase in the number of exposed healthcare records according to the 2019 Breach [...]
Theft of Patient Schedules Results in Potential Exposure of PHI of 3,472 Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City Patients
Paperwork containing information on patients has been stolen from an Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City [...]
New Rules on Patient Access and Information Blocking Proposed by ONC and CMS
The HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for [...]
HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey Reveals Phishing and Legacy Systems Major Security Concerns
HIMSS has published the results of its annual cybersecurity survey. The aim of the survey is to identify [...]
To Whom Should HIPAA Complaints be Reported to Within a Covered Entity?
To whom should HIPAA violation complaints be directed to inside a covered entity? If a healthcare employee [...]
GDPR Supervisory Authorities Have Received 59,000 Data Breach Reports and Issued 91 Fines
DLA Piper’s new report shows there have been 59,430 data breaches reported to EU regulatory authorities [...]
Malware Attack on Pawnee County Memorial Hospital Impacts 7,000 Patients
Pawnee County Memorial Hospital located in Pawnee City, Nebraska, is notifying 7,038 patients that a hacker [...]
GDPR-Style Data Privacy Law Signed into California Legislature
California governor Jerry Brown has signed AB 375 – the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 – [...]
Is HIPAA Compliant Email Archiving a Requirement?
Is It Necessary to Archive Emails to Comply with HIPAA? Email archiving is not required by the Security [...]
PHI of 24,000 Georgia Eye Associates Patients Exposed Due to EyeSouth Partners Email Account Breach
A hacker accessed the email account of an employee of EyeSouth Partners and potentially viewed or acquired [...]
HIPAA Compliance for Home Health Care Workers
The issue of HIPAA compliance for home health care workers can be complicated because of specific challenges [...]
What Information Does HIPAA Law Protect?
One of the principal purposes of HIPAA is to ensure the privacy of patients is protected by making sure that [...]
EHR Vendor to Pay $57.25 Million For False Claims Act Violation
Greenway Health LLC, an electronic health record (EHR) software developer based in Tampa, FL, has agreed to [...]
How to Improve Hospital Workflows
Achieving Workflow Optimization in Hospitals The matter of improving hospital workflows is a senior [...]
Wyoming Hospital Records Act of 1991 May be Repealed
Wyoming is contemplating repealing the Hospital Records Act of 1991. The act was created to make sure [...]
24,500 Patients’ PHI Exposed Due to Cyberattacks on Connecticut Eye Clinic and Chaplaincy Health Care
A ransomware attack on Dr. DeLuca Dr. Marciano & Associates, P.C., an eye care clinic located in [...]
IDenticard PremiSys Access Control System Vulnerabilities Identified
ICS-CERT has published an advisory about three vulnerabilities with a high severity rating that are affecting [...]
Data Breaches at Valley Professionals Community Health Center and Sunflower State Health Plan Impact 13,625 Patients
Valley Professionals Community Health Center in Indiana has experienced a phishing attack that has resulted [...]
Aetna Pays $935,000 to California AG to Settle HIV Status Breach Case
The Connecticut health insurer Aetna has agreed to pay a financial penalty of $935,000 to the California [...]
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act Allows Legal Action Over Violations Even Without Actual Harm
The Illinois Supreme Court has decided that state residents can file a lawsuit against a private entity when [...]
Hackers Can Exploit Vulnerabilities in Security Cameras
Hackers could exploit vulnerabilities in networked security and surveillance cameras to gain access to the [...]
Guidance for Medical Device Manufacturers Sharing Data with Patients Issued by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released guidelines for medical device manufacturers who [...]
Ransomware Attack on FABEN Obstetrics and Gynecology Results in Patient Data Loss
FABEN Obstetrics and Gynecology in Jacksonville, FL has suffered a ransomware attack which has resulted in [...]
HSCC’s New Cybersecurity Framework for Medical Devices
The Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC) has published a new cybersecurity [...]
2018 Healthcare Data Breaches Analysis
Since October 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services’ office for civil Rights (OCR) has been [...]
PHI of 7,200 Integrity House Patients Stored on Stolen Computers
A break-in at the offices of addiction treatment services provider Integrity House had potentially resulted [...]
Software Updates Issued to Address KRACK Vulnerabilities Affecting Stryker Medical Beds
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities have been identified in Stryker Medical Beds which could potentially be [...]
HITRUST CSF is Now Incorporates GDPR Requirements
HITRUST has incorporated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into the HITRUST Cybersecurity [...]
Multiple Vulnerabilities Discovered in LabKey Server Community Edition
Tenable Research security researchers have discovered several flaws in LabKey Server Community Edition [...]
GDPR Compliance To-Do List
The goal of this GDPR To Do List is to assist organizations and businesses that gather, process or retain the [...]
Critical Care, Pulmonary & Sleep Associates Email-Related Breach Impacts 23,300 Patients
A data breach at Critical Care, Pulmonary & Sleep Associates (CCPSA) in Colorado has impacted over 23,300 [...]
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Breach Impacted 87,000 More Patients Than Previously Thought
In April 2018, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (ADHSS) discovered that malware had been [...]
HIPAA Compliance for HR Departments
HIPAA compliance for HR departments is necessary for healthcare and health insurance companies, but even [...]
All-Star Orthopaedics and Dermacare Brickell Data Breaches Impact 77,800 Patients
All-Star Orthopaedics has notified patients of Las Colinas Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine in [...]
Radware Report Talks About Increasing Cost of Cyberattacks
Radware’s new report provides information regarding the threat landscape in 2018 and the dramatic [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for December 2018
December was the second-best month of 2018 for healthcare data breaches with only 23 healthcare data breaches [...]
Tougher Data Breach Notification Laws in North Carolina Sought By State AG
With the increasing number of data breaches impacting North Carolina residents in 2017, state representative [...]
US-CERT Issues Alert About Dräger Infinity Delta Patient Monitors Vulnerabilities
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Team (US-CERT) [...]
Google Issued a €50 Million GDPR Violation Penalty By CSIL
Google got slapped with a penalty of €50 million Euro ($56.8 million) for a GDPR violation. This is the [...]
Valley Hope Association Alerts Patients About Email-Related Breach
Valley Hope Association has discovered that an unauthorized individual has gained access to an [...]
Revised Common Rule Now In Effect
The Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (45 CFR part 46), also called the Common Rule, has [...]
CMS Issues New Medicare Cards to Fight Fraud
People with Medicare have now been issued new Medicare cards that have no Social Security numbers printed on [...]
Patient Health Information at Risk Due to Security Failures of the Department of Defense Health Agency
According to a recently issued Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General report (PDF), the [...]
Doctor Gets Probation for Criminal HIPAA Violation Instead of a Jail Term
A doctor pleaded guilty to committing a criminal violation of HIPAA Rules for wrongfully disclosing the PHI [...]
Email-Related Breach at Lebanon VA Medical Center Exposed the PHI of 1,000 Patients
Lebanon VA Medical Center based in Pennsylvania found out that the protected health information (PHI) of [...]
Does GDPR Apply to Employees?
Is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also applicable to data of employees, just like with the [...]
Is SharePoint HIPAA Compliant?
SharePoint is a web-based document management and storage system. It is one of the top collaborative [...]
Is WordPress HIPAA Compliant?
WordPress is a well-known content management system used for creating websites. A lot of businesses use [...]
New Data Breach Notification Law in Massachusetts Enacted
A new data breach notification law in Massachusetts was enacted on January 10, 2019. The new law was signed [...]
BenefitMall Email Security Breach: PHI of 111K Individuals Compromised
Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services, doing business as BenefitMall, has sent notifications to over [...]
HIPAA Compliance for Call Centers
HIPAA Compliant Texting in Call Centers HIPAA compliance for call centers is an important concern for all [...]
Marriott Hotels Could Be Penalized Up to $915M for GDPR Breach
The investigation of a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) breach by the Marriott Hotels Group revealed [...]
Boston Children’s Hospital DDoS Attacker Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail
Martin Gottesfeld, 34, of Somerville, MA, the hacker responsible for a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) [...]
Can Healthcare Professionals Use Personal Phones at Work Without Violating HIPAA?
There is a worrisome practice happening in healthcare centers throughout the country: The utilization of [...]
HIPAA Compliance and Medical Records
Stage 2 Meaningful Use, HIPAA Compliance and EHRs Stage 2 Meaningful Use elevates the standard on the [...]
PHI of Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center Patients Exposed Due to Phishing Attack
Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center in Memphis, MI, provides substance abuse treatment and care services for [...]
Multiple Cybersecurity Failures Led to SingHealth’s 1.5-Million Records Breach
A healthcare data breach investigation revealed that failing to implement basic cybersecurity best practices [...]
Phishing Attack on Kent County Community Mental Health Authority Exposed Patient PHI
A targeted phishing attack on Kent County Community Mental Health Authority, dba Network180, began on October [...]
500 Patients of Solis Mammography Informed of Laptop Theft and PHI Exposure
Ben-Ora, Hansen, Vanesian Imaging Ltd, has announced that an unencrypted laptop computer used by a Solis [...]
Feds Launch Awareness Campaign on Private Sector Cyber Risks
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) at the at the Office of the Director of National [...]
Irish Data Protection Commission’s Strict Enforcement of GDPR in 2019
An Irish Data protection Commission (DPC) spokesperson recently disclosed in an interview that DPC is going [...]
Greater GDPR Enforcement Predictions for 2019
Mozilla’s Senior Policy Manager and EU Principal, Raegan MacDonald, issued a statement saying that in [...]
How Employees Can Help Prevent HIPAA Violations
Healthcare institutions and their business associates must be in compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security, [...]
Hospitals Incur 64% Higher Advertising Costs After a Healthcare Data Breach
A new study has investigated how advertising expenditures are affected by healthcare data breaches. The [...]
Ransomware Attack on Business Associate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
A ransomware attack on a business associate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has potentially compromised [...]
Breaches at Podiatric Offices of Bobby Yee and Humana Impact 580,000 People
The Podiatric Offices of Bobby Yee experienced a ransomware attack on October 29, 2018. The attack resulted [...]
Increased Chinese Malicious Cyber Activity Prompts US-CERT to Issue IT Service Provider Warning
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has [...]
Phishing Attack on Orlando Family Physicians Group Impacts 8,400 Patients
Family Physicians Group in Orlando has informed 8,400 patients that a phishing attack has allowed hackers to [...]
2018 HIPAA Fines and Settlements Summary
This post is a summary of the 2018 HIPAA fines and settlements that have been agreed with either the [...]
4,309 Choice Rehabilitation Residents Impacted by Email Account Breach
Choice Rehabilitation of Creve Coeur, MO has announced that an unauthorized person has gained access to an [...]
HIPAA Security Officer
The Administrative Safeguards of the HIPAA Security Rule (45 CFR 164.308) require all Covered Entities to [...]
Voluntary Cybersecurity Best Practices for Healthcare Organizations Published by HHS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published voluntary cybersecurity best practices [...]
PHI of Dental Center of Northwest Ohio Patients Exposed Due to Ransomware Attack
The Dental Center of Northwest Ohio located in Toledo, OH, has notified present and past patients that some [...]
What is Considered PHI?
This article answers one of the most commonly asked questions related to HIPAA – What is considered [...]
Flowers Hospital to Pay $150,000 to Settle Data Breach Lawsuit
Flowers Hospital in Dothan, AL has agreed to settle a class action data breach lawsuit that was filed against [...]
The Three Most Prevalent Security Weaknesses in Healthcare
Clearwater has identified the most prevalent security weaknesses in healthcare from IRM analyses carried out [...]
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Informs 15,000 Customers About Data Breach
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has advised around 15,000 customers that some of their private and [...]
Summary of the Biggest Healthcare Data Breaches of 2018
This is a summary of the biggest healthcare data breaches of 2018. The healthcare data breaches referred to [...]
Risk Management Framework Updated by NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the final version of its updated Risk [...]
San Diego School District Phishing Attack Exposed the Data of Over 500,000 Staff and Students
The San Diego School District has announced that a phishing attack resulted in the exposure of the private [...]
HIPAA Encryption for iPhones and Android Phones
Should healthcare providers encrypt data in the smartphones they use? There is some misunderstanding [...]
Does HIPAA Apply to Employers?
“Does HIPAA Apply to Employers” is a question that has triggered varied responses because of the complex [...]
What Are Covered Entities Under HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is applicable to healthcare organizations and [...]
Lawsuit Filed Against LifeBridge Health Over Theft of PHI of 530,000 Patients
A lawsuit has been filed against LifeBridge Health over a breach of the protected health information (PHI) of [...]
McLean Hospital to Pay $75,000 HIPAA Violation Fine
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has fined McLean Hospital $75,000 for a data breach in 2015 that [...]
Court Ruled in Favor of Patient In Impermissible PHI Disclosure Lawsuit
An 11-year legal case filed after a woman’s healthcare records were released to her ex-boyfriend has at [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report in November 2018
In November, 34 healthcare data breaches were reported to OCR, which makes it the second worst month of 2018 [...]
32,000 Patients’ PHI Potentially Exposed in Elizabethtown Community Hospital Email Breach
Around 32,000 patients of the University of Vermont Health Network’s Elizabethtown Community Hospital have [...]
HIPAA Privacy Laws
Objectives of HIPAA Privacy Laws HIPAA privacy laws were introduced in 2002 with the goal of ensuring the [...]
Facebook Investigated Again By the Irish Data Protection Commission
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is looking into another potential General Data Protection [...]
Credit Card Breach at BJC Healthcare and PHI Breach at CCRM Dallas-Fort Worth
BJC HealthCare, a large not-for-profit healthcare network in the U.S., has discovered hackers uploaded [...]
CMS Explains the Use of Text Messages in Healthcare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has confirmed to healthcare providers that using text [...]
Vulnerability Discovered in Medtronic Encore and CareLink Programmers
ICS-CERT issued a bulletin regarding a vulnerability that was found in some Medtronic CareLink and Encore [...]
Contra Costa Health Plan and Ramsey County Social Services PHI Breaches Reported
Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) is sending notifications to patients to alert them that some of their [...]
The Data Care Act – A New Federal GDPR-Style Data Privacy Bill
Data privacy regulations have been introduced in the 50 states, although, there is no federal data privacy [...]
Study Reveals the Scale of Phishing Attacks and Value of Security Awareness Training
New research has revealed the scale of phishing attacks and the number of employees being misled by phishing [...]
Google to Relocate Management of EU Data from the US to Ireland
Google has unveiled its decision to make several changes to its terms of service and privacy policy. One of [...]
What is the Importance of HIPAA to Patients?
The majority of Americans know that HIPAA relates to healthcare providers, but many people do not realize how [...]
PHI of 16,000 Mind & Motion Patients Potentially Compromised Due to Ransomware Attack
Mind & Motion Developmental Centers of Georgia has discovered hackers installed malware and ransomware on [...]
Which? Research Revealed Potential GDPR Breach by Retailers Issuing E-Receipts
The consumer group Which? recently conducted an investigation into the issuance of e-receipts to customers. [...]
Intsights Found a Huge Number of Open and Misconfigured Healthcare Databases in the Cloud
Intsights, an enterprise threat management platform provider, conducted a survey which revealed an alarming [...]
EmblemHealth Fined $100,000 for HIPAA Violations
The New Jersey state attorney general’s office has fined the health insurance company [...]
Colorado Hospital to Pay $111,400 for Failure to Deactivate PHI Access of Former Employee
A Colorado hospital is to pay OCR $111,400 for failing to terminate the access of a former employee to its [...]
Potential GDPR Breach by the Irish Government Department Investigated
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is under investigation for potential General Data Protection [...]
Frisco Medical Center Breach: Payment Information of 48,000 Patients Exposed
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, located in Frisco, TX, has learned about a potential compromise of [...]
Malware Attack on the University of Maryland Medical System Successfully Thwarted
The University of Maryland Medical System discovered on December 9, 2018, that an unauthorized person [...]
Prairie Fields Family Medicine’s Email-Related Privacy Breach Impacts 6,450 Patients
Prairie Fields Family Medicine, based in Fremont, NE, is notifying 6,450 patients about the potential [...]
Philips HealthSuite Health Android App Vulnerability Discovered
The Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) [...]
€400,000 GDPR Violation Fine for Portuguese Hospital
The Comissão Nacional de Protecção de Dados (CNPD), Portugal’s GDPR supervisory authority, has [...]
18,000 People Affected by Three Separate Healthcare Security Breaches
Redwood Eye Center Ransomware Attack IT Lighthouse, the managed service provider hosting the electronic [...]
AMIA and AHIMA Want Adjustments to HIPAA to Improve Accessibility and Portability of Health Information
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the American Health Information Management [...]
Up to 500 Million Marriott International Clients Impacted By Data Privacy Breach
According to a statement released by Marriott International, the personal information of around 500 million [...]
Summary of Ransomware Attacks on Healthcare Providers in Illinois and Rhode Island
This is a summary of healthcare ransomware attacks, security incidents and privacy breaches that have been [...]
PHI of 41,000 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Patients Potentially Exposed
Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s Western Regional Medical Center located in Bullhead City, AZ has [...]
Advanced Care Hospitalists Pays $500,000 to Settle Multiple HIPAA Violations
The HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has investigated a case of impermissible disclosure of PHI by a [...]
12.05.18 Webinar: Cost Effective DNS-Based Web Filtering
A webinar is taking place on DNS-based web filtering on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 which explains how [...]
ONC’s Easy EHR Issues Reporting Challenge Winners Announced
The Easy EHR Issues Reporting Challenge was launched by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office [...]
Serious Security Vulnerabilities Identified at Arizona Managed Care Organizations
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has conducted security [...]
Location Tracking Leads to Multiple GDPR Complaints Against Google
A new data privacy complaint against Google has been submitted by a group of EU-based consumer watchdogs. It [...]
Two Senators Push for GDPR-Like Legislation in the US in 2019
A US Senate subcommittee disclosed that it is preparing a draft of new legislation similar to GDPR for the [...]
PHI of 7,000 Georgia Spine and Orthopaedics of Atlanta Patients Exposed Due to Phishing Attack
Georgia Spine and Orthopaedics of Atlanta (GSOA) is notifying certain patients about the potential theft of [...]
Two Iranian Hackers Indicted for SamSam Ransomware Attacks
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that two threat actors responsible for SamSam ransomware [...]
Partial Closure of Emergency Rooms at Two Hospitals Due to Ransomware Attack
East Ohio Regional Hospital (EORH) in Martins Ferry, OH and Ohio Valley Medical Center (OVMC) in Wheeling, WV [...]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reinstates UPMC Data Breach Lawsuit
The employees affected by a data breach at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPMC) took legal action [...]
Technology Use in Healthcare Versus HIPAA Compliance
Why Modern Technology May Not be HIPAA Compliant A lot of healthcare professionals today use their mobile [...]
PHI of 7,000 Patients Exposed Due to Tandigm Health Website Vulnerability
Healthcare company Tandigm Health discovered a vulnerability on its website on September 25, 2018. The [...]
Over Half Of Healthcare Data Breaches Caused By Insiders
The healthcare industry is a target for hackers but while there have been many hacks and IT incidents, [...]
Instagram User Passwords Exposed Due to Flawed Download Tool
Instagram has issued a warning that the password details of some of its users had been exposed due to a [...]
Allergy Practice in Hartford Fined $125,000 for Impermissible PHI Disclosure
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has settled potential HIPAA [...]
New Draft Paper on Telehealth and Remote Monitoring Device Cybersecurity Open for Feedback
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) [...]
OIG Reports on Top Management and Performance Challenges of HHS
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its yearly [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for October 2018
HIPAA Journal’s healthcare data breach report for October 2018 shows an increase in healthcare data [...]
Alleged Large Scale GDPR Breach at Microsoft Office Under Investigation
Microsoft Office is being investigated by Dutch investigators because of claims there has been a violation of [...]
Key Dental Group Notifies Patients of Potential HIPAA Violation
Key Dental Group in Pembroke Pines, FL is notifying patients about a possible HIPAA violation that could [...]
PHI of 4,458 Patients Stored on Stolen FHN Healthcare Laptop
FHN Healthcare, which manages FHN Memorial Hospital located in Freeport, IL and other family healthcare [...]
Episcopal Health Services Patients Impacted by Email Hacking Incident
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital and Episcopal Health Services in New York have notified past and present [...]
Greater Alignment of Federal Data Privacy Rules Needed
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is requesting the Health Insurance Portability and [...]
HHS Plans Request for Information to Discover Issues Hampering Patient Information Sharing and Care Coordination
The HHS has prepared a Request for Information (RFI) to find out how HIPAA Rules are obstructing the sharing [...]
Phishing Attack on Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center Affects 2,393 Patients
A phishing attack on Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center located in Vancouver, WA, resulted in the [...]
Who May Be Exempted from GDPR Requirements?
The enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU began on May 25, 2018. Companies [...]
Reporting a HIPAA Violation Complaint Anonymously
If you discover that your organization’s management or a co-employee has committed a HIPAA violation, [...]
What is HIPAA Authorization?
The HIPAA Rules place restrictions on the disclosure of protected health information (PHI) and healthcare [...]
CISA Act Calls for New Cybersecurity Agency Inside DHS
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be forming a new agency exclusively focused on cybersecurity [...]
Upstate University Hospital Breach Impacts PHI of 1,216 Patients
Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, has informed 1,216 of its patients that a former hospital worker [...]
PHI of 94,000 People Exposed Due to HealthCare.gov Data Breach
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported last month that the HealthCare.gov website [...]
Privacy International UK Filed Complaints Against US Firms for GDPR Breaches
Privacy International is a registered charity based in the UK that protects and promotes privacy rights [...]
Ransomware Attack on May Eye Care Center Impacts 30,000 Patients
On July 29, 2018, May Eye Care Center, located in Hanover, PA, was attacked with ransomware. The ransomware [...]
Radisson Hotel Group Data Breach Subject to GDPR
The Radisson Hotel Group reported a potential breach that affected its loyalty and rewards scheme [...]
Phishing Attack on Health First Compromised 42,000 Customers’ PHI
Health First Inc., a health system with four hospitals based in Florida, experienced a hacking/IT incident [...]
Former Chilton Medical Center Employee Sentenced for Theft of Computer Equipment
Sergiu Jitcu of Saddle Brook, NJ was a former IT employee of Chilton Medical Center in New Jersey. He was [...]
Healthcare Security Breaches from 2015 to 2017
The last three years have seen 955 major healthcare security breaches that resulted in the exposure and/or [...]
ICS-CERT Advisory on New Vulnerability in Philips iSite and IntelliSpace PACS
ICS-CERT released a bulletin concerning a medium severity vulnerability found in Philips iSite and [...]
Billing Information of 12,331 Inova Health System Patients Compromised
Inova Health System based in Falls Church, VA is informing 12,331 patients that there has been a breach of [...]
Reporting a HIPAA Violation at Work
Would you report a HIPAA violation if you suspect that one occurred in your workplace? If so, how would you [...]
What is Considered as PHI Under HIPAA?
In the healthcare industry, health information is often spoken of as protected health information or PHI, but [...]
OIG Publishes Findings of Audit of FDA’s Policies and Procedures Covering Postmarket Cybersecurity Risk to Medical Devices
The HHS’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released the results of an audit of the policies and [...]
Roche Point of Care Handheld Medical Devices’ Vulnerabilities Detected
ICS-CERT has issued a warning about five vulnerabilities in Point of Care handheld medical devices [...]
Average Data Breach Penalties in the UK Have Doubled in the Last 12 Months
U.K. law firm RPC published a report that says the average penalty for security failure or data breach has [...]
Less Than a Third of Healthcare Organizations Have a Comprehensive Cybersecurity Program
The 2018 CHIME Healthcare’s Most Wired survey has revealed many healthcare organizations do not have a [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for Q3 2018
The Q3 Breach Barometer Report from Protenus shows a drop in the number of healthcare data breaches in Q3 [...]
The Most Common HIPAA Violations Healthcare Organizations Should be Aware Of
The most common HIPAA violations committed by healthcare organizations that have resulted in financial [...]
566,217 Customers of Bankers Life Impacted by Data Breach
Bankers Life, based in Chicago, is a health insurance company and the largest division of CNO Financial Group [...]
Healthcare Organizations Pummeled by SamSam Ransomware
The cybercriminals behind SamSam ransomware have been highly active this year. 67 organizations have been [...]
What to Do to Make Your Email HIPAA Compliant
A lot of healthcare organizations would like to use email for transmitting the protected health information [...]
Business Associate Pays $200,000 to New Jersey for Virtua Medical Data Breach
Best Medical Transcription agreed to pay a $200,000 settlement to the New Jersey Attorney’s office to [...]
Beazley’s Q3 Breach Insights Reports Shows Increase in Ransomware Attacks
The Beazley’s Q3 Breach Insights Report shows there has been a significant increase in ransomware attacks [...]
Is Canada Covered by GDPR?
A lot of Canadian businesses want to know if GDPR is applicable to Canada and Canadian businesses. Although [...]
OCR Recommends Cybersecurity Best Practices for Healthcare Organizations
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has reminded healthcare organizations [...]
New Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center Opened by HHS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally launched its Health Sector Cybersecurity [...]
What Does a Limited Data Set Mean Under HIPAA?
A limited data set, as defined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule, is a set of identifiable healthcare data that [...]
Is Google Docs HIPAA Compliant?
Is Google Docs HIPAA compliant? Are HIPAA-covered entities allowed to upload files containing protected [...]
Medicaid Data Breach Report for 2016 Published by OIG
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a new report [...]
BDO USA Survey Results Show that US Companies Are Addressing GDPR Shortcomings
BDO USA polled 145 U.S. corporate directors on public company boards in August 2018 about GDPR and their data [...]
Apple CEO Urges U.S. Legislators to Create GDPR-like Data Protection Regulations
The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, spoke at the 40th edition of the International Conference of Data Protection and [...]
Potential Exposure of PHI of 10,000 Raley’s Pharmacy Patients Due to Stolen Laptop
Raley’s Pharmacy is sending notifications to around 10,000 patients about the possible exposure of some of [...]
MHSS Business Associate Improperly Retained PHI of 10,400 Patients
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MHSS) is informing 10,400 patients about a recently [...]
OCR Campaign to Boost Understanding of Civil Rights Protections for Patients Undergoing Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
On October 26, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the opioid crisis in the United States was a [...]
Understanding HIPAA and the HITECH Act
There is some confusion about HIPAA and the HITECH Act. HIPAA predates the HITECH Act by 13 years and is [...]
Is Zoom HIPAA Compliant?
Zoom is a well-known video and web conferencing platform that 750,000 businesses now use, but can healthcare [...]
Is G Suite HIPAA Compliant?
Is it acceptable for HIPAA-covered entities to use G Suite and can the suite of cloud services be used [...]
Ransomware Attack on Sioux City Eye Clinic Potentially Exposed the PHI of 40,000 Patients
The Jones Eye Clinic and CJ Elmwood Partners, L.P, located in Sioux City, IA, have discovered the protected [...]
MediaPRO Study Shows 75% of Employees Have Poor Security Awareness
For three years now, MediaPRO, the security awareness training firm, has conducted a yearly study to assess [...]
One in Six European Companies Not Ready for Data Breach According to BSI Study
According to a recently published study conducted by the British Standards Institution (BSI), one in six [...]
Catawba Valley Medical Center and Byram Healthcare Breaches Impact Over 20,000 Patients
Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) located in Hickory, NC, found out on August 13, 2018 that an [...]
FirstCare Health Plans Informs 8,000+ Members of Accidental PHI Disclosure
FirstCare Health Plans in Texas is informing over 8,000 plan members about the impermissible disclosure of [...]
Irish DPA Reviews Twitter for Potential GDPR Violations
Twitter is being investigated by the Data Protection Authority (DPA) in Ireland over a possible GDPR [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for September 2018
September saw 25 healthcare data breaches of more than 500 records reported to the Department of Health and [...]
Google+ About to Close Down Because of a Bug-Related Breach
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Google about to close down Google+ because of the [...]
Employees Retirement System of Texas Data Breach Affects Up to 1.25 Million Individuals
The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has discovered a problem with its ERS OnLine portal. When some [...]
16,000 National Ambulatory Hernia Institute Patients Impacted by Ransomware Attack
California’s National Ambulatory Hernia Institute experienced a ransomware attack on September 13, 2018 [...]
Mobile Data Security and HIPAA Compliance
Healthcare providers and HIPAA-covered entities have been caught up in the mobile technology movement. Many [...]
HIPAA Training Requirements
What are the HIPAA Training Requirements? HIPAA applies to Covered Entities (CEs) – healthcare [...]
FDA-DHS Collaborate to Medical Device Cybersecurity
A memorandum of agreement has been announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the [...]
HIPAA Risk Analysis Guidance and Tools
The HIPAA risk analysis is a fundamental component of HIPAA compliance, but a lot of healthcare agencies and [...]
Most Common Phishing Emails Used by Cybercriminals in 2018
The most common types of phishing emails that cybercriminals send to healthcare organizations have been [...]
FDA Issues Alert Concerning Vulnerabilities in Medtronic Implantable Cardiac Device Programmers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert after it confirmed that certain Medtronic [...]
$640,000 Paid by Aetna to Settle HIPAA Violation Case with State Attorneys General
Two mailing errors in 2017 resulted in the impermissible disclosure of Aetna plan members’ protected [...]
Biomarin Pharmaceutical and Envision Healthcare Corporation Report Email-Related Breaches
Biomarin Pharmaceutical and Envision Healthcare Corporation have both recently announced that they have [...]
The Duties of a HIPAA Compliance Officer
Under the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a covered entity or business associate [...]
Changes in HIPAA Regulations and Enforcement in 2018
What changes in HIPAA regulations could be expected in 2018? Are there new HIPAA regulations expected to be [...]
Limited Waiver of HIPAA Penalties in Florida and Georgia in Aftermath of Hurricane Michael
Alex Azar, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has waived HIPAA sanctions and [...]
PHI of 21,000 Patients of Minnesota DHS Potentially Compromised
Two recent phishing attacks on the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) have resulted in a potential [...]
Vulnerabilities Found in Carestream Vue RIS, PeerVue Web Server and Siemens Healthcare Products
Five advisories have been issued by the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber [...]
Round Up of Recent Healthcare Data Breaches
Here’s a summary of the healthcare data breaches reported to OCR by healthcare providers and business [...]
HSCC to Issue Cybersecurity Best Practices for Medical Device Manufacturers and Healthcare Organizations
The Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC) will soon release voluntary [...]
Phishing Attack on Gold Coast Health Plan: PHI of 37,000 Members Potentially Compromised
Gold Coast Health Plan based in Camarillo, CA is alerting 37,000 plan members that hackers have potentially [...]
Is Microsoft Office 365 HIPAA Compliant?
Office 365 is a collection of subscription products from Microsoft that include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, [...]
Why is HIPAA Important?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is an essential set of regulations that were [...]
What Does PHI Stand For?
The acronym PHI is generally used in association with health information, but what does PHI stand for? What [...]
Can A Patient File A Lawsuit for A HIPAA Violation?
Is it possible for a patient to file a lawsuit for a HIPAA violation? There is no private cause of action in [...]
KHOU Employee Found Abandoned Paper Records Containing PHI in Houston Street
An employee of KHOU 11, a CBS-affiliated TV station, discovered abandoned paperwork that contained the [...]
Medical Device Cybersecurity Regional Incident Preparedness and Response Playbook Issued by FDA
On October 1, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a Medical Device Cybersecurity Regional [...]
AggregateIQ Gets the First UK GDPR Notice for Mishandling Personal Data
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has sent the UK’s first GDPR notice to AggregateIQ, an [...]
Cyber Attack on Facebook Impacts Almost 50 Million Accounts Holders
Facebook’s engineers discovered a serious data breach which was resolved on September 25. The data [...]
Healthcare Industry is More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks Than Other Industries
The healthcare sector is frequently attacked by phishers seeking access to healthcare information located in [...]
NIST’s New Guidance Document on Managing IoT Cybersecurity and Privacy
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft of a guidance document that [...]
Three Legislation Changes on HIPAA Regulations in 2018 Under Consideration by OCR
Because of the policy of two out for every new regulation, it is likely that there will be few new HIPAA [...]
What is a HIPAA Violation?
Everyday, there seems to be a new report about a healthcare provider or health plan that has been discovered [...]
The Compliancy Group Creates Free HIPAA Quiz for HIPAA Compliance Assessment
The Compliancy Group has created a HIPAA Quiz which can be used by healthcare organizations free of charge to [...]
Phishing Attack on Aspire Health Resulted in PHI Theft
Aspire Health is a Nashville, TN in-home services provider for patients diagnosed with critical illnesses. [...]
The Effect of GDPR on Data Breach Reports and Consumer Complaints
With the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), EU residents now enjoy new rights and [...]
Gynecologist Lost Her License But Did Not Get Jail Time and Fine for Criminal HIPAA Violation
In April 2018, 65-year old former Massachusetts gynecologist Rita Luthra was found guilty of a criminal [...]
Ex-Employee of Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital Accused of Stealing and Selling Patients’ PHI
An employee of the emergency unit in Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital has been charged with stealing [...]
Rising Incidences of HIPAA Violations on Social Media
Posting protected health information (PHI) on social media sites, including closed Facebook groups, violates [...]
How is the HITECH Act Related to HIPAA and Electronic Health and Medical Records?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in August 1996. It was updated in [...]
PHI of 17,000 Independence Blue Cross Members Was Exposed Online
Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia has notified 17,000 of its plan members that their protected health [...]
California Legislature Approves California Consumer Privacy Act Changes
In June 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was approved by the California legislature. The Act [...]
Can Healthcare Vendors Get HIPAA Certification?
Vendors offering their services to healthcare providers that would require access to protected health [...]
FDA to Improve Reviews of Medical Device Cybersecurity
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report [...]
CMS Investigates Fairview Southdale Hospital Patient Privacy Violation
The HHS’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has investigated Fairview Southdale Hospital in [...]
Email-Related Breaches Reported by Hopebridge and United Methodist Homes
Hopebridge, a healthcare organization that operates a network of 28 autism treatment centers across the [...]
Texas Nurse Fired for Sharing PHI on Social Media
A nurse employed at Texas Children’s Hospital has lost her job as a result of sharing protected health [...]
What is Regarded as Protected Health Information According to HIPAA?
Some patients, and even some healthcare employees, may not be 100% sure exactly what is regarded as protected [...]
OCR Pubishes Guidance on Patient Data Sharing During a Public Health Emergency
Following President Trump’s declaration of a public health emergency in Virginia due to Hurricane [...]
Acadiana Computer Systems Phishing Attack Impacts 31,000 Individuals
Lafayette, Louisiana-based Acadiana Computer Services Inc., provides software and business solutions to the [...]
New Privacy Framework To Protect the Privacy of Workers and Customers
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a Cybersecurity Framework in 2014 to [...]
Which Email Providers are HIPAA Compliant?
HIPAA-covered entities need to make certain that protected health information (PHI) sent by email is secure [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for August 2018
In August, 28 healthcare data breaches were reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights which represents a [...]
Changes Made to the Apple App Store Privacy Policy Following GDPR Introduction
Starting October 3, 2018, the Apple App Store will implement a new privacy policy rule that will require app [...]
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