6 largest HIPAA settlement fines of 2016
“2016 served as evidence of two looming and growing issues in health IT: data breaches and HIPAA settlements. Not only did the number of data breaches and cyberattacks increase throughout the year, but HHS’ Office for Civil Rights also continued to become more aggressive in enforcing HIPAA regulations. Here are six of the largest HIPAA […]
Cybercrime: The Price Of Inequality
“Cybercrime costs are projected to reach $2 trillion by 2019 predicts Juniper Research, and $6 trillion by 2021 posits Cybersecurity Ventures. Cybercrime has already cost U.K. business over £1 billion in the past year according to the U.K.’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting center. And the 2016 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report states that global cybercrime hit $126 billion […]
Ransomware Poses Evolving Threat to Enterprises in 2017, Report Finds
“Ransomware is a big problem and becoming more serious as hackers around the world target enterprises that are most able to pay hefty data ransoms and can’t afford to be locked out of critical business data, a new report from security companies Trend Micro and Information Security Media Group (ISMG) reveals. The two firms recently […]
Russia penetrated Vermont utility company computer
“Malicious software believed tied to a Russian hacking group associated with attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election was found Friday within a computer that belongs to Burlington Electric, one of Vermont’s electrical utilities. The utility found the malware on a laptop not connected to the operation of the grid, said Commissioner Christopher Recchia of […]
Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental Hotels Investigating Possible Credit Card Breach
“The Intercontinental Hotels Group — parent company to a number of hotel chains, including Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express — is investigating a possible breach of customers’ payment card data. In addition to the Holiday Inn brands, InterContinental owns a number of chains: Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hotel Indigo, Even Hotels, and […]
U.S. accuses Chinese citizens of hacking law firms, insider trading
“Three Chinese citizens have been criminally charged in the United States with trading on confidential corporate information obtained by hacking into networks and servers of law firms working on mergers, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday. Iat Hong of Macau, Bo Zheng of Changsha, China, and Chin Hung of Macau were charged in an indictment filed […]
Chinese government has arrested hackers it says breached OPM database
“The Chinese government recently arrested a handful of hackers it says were connected to the breach of Office of Personnel Management’s database this year, a mammoth break-in that exposed the records of more than 22 million current and former federal employees. The arrests took place shortly before a state visit in September by President Xi […]
Devious Ransomware Frees You if You Infect Two Other People
“RANSOMWARE—A PARTICULARLY NASTY malware that holds your data hostage until you pay up—just got more pernicious with a version that lets you sell out your friends instead of handing over your cash. The diabolical software Popcorn Time, which is not at all affiliated with the Popcorn Time piracy app, shakes victims down like any other […]
Data breach at LinkedIn’s Lynda.com affects 55,000 accounts
“Microsoft is getting a little bit more than it bargained for now that its acquisition of LinkedIn is official. LinkedIn’s training site Lynda.com is notifying users of a database breach that includes the passwords of just under 55,000 accounts. All those passwords were “cryptographically salted and hashed” to prevent access the site says, but it’s […]
Health data breaches hit 2016 high in November
“Just when you think the cybersecurity problem couldn’t get any worse in healthcare, along comes a report saying that there were more health data breaches disclosed in November than in any other month in 2016. In a report released Thursday, Protenus, a startup focused on tracking and preventing healthcare data breaches, said there were 57 […]