UMass settles potential HIPAA violations following malware infection
“The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. The settlement includes a corrective action plan and a monetary payment of $650,000, which is reflective of the fact that the University operated at a financial loss in […]
Lincoln Financial Unit Hit with $650K Fine Over Data Hack
“The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority censured Lincoln Financial Securities Corp., a Lincoln Financial Network broker-dealer, and fined it $650,000 for failing to reasonably safeguard confidential customer data, according to a letter of settlement posted on the regulator’s website on Tuesday. The penalty highlights the increasing importance Finra is putting on cybersecurity and data privacy issues […]
Cloud Service Providers Beware, You May Be Subject to HIPAA Without Knowing It
“The use of cloud service providers has exploded in the past several years. According to estimates from Gartner, the market for cloud services is expected to reach $204 billion in 2016. But the use of cloud service providers raises significant privacy and security concerns, especially for health care providers who are subject to the Health […]
HIPAA business associate fines putting pressure on healthcare partners
“Regulations set in place by HIPAA certainly hve an impact on partners in healthcare – even those who are just dabbling in the vertical. But when it comes to impacting partners’ wallets, there’s more at risk than just dollars. With fines exetending to channel partners serving healthcare organizations via HIPAA’s business associate agreement (BAA) reaching […]
St. Joseph Health to pay $2 million for HIPAA violations
St. Joseph Health will pay $2,140,500 to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Privacy and Security Rules. At issue, according to the Office for Civil Rights, which oversees HIPAA rules, were files containing electronic protected health information that were publicly accessible through internet search engines from 2011 until […]
Patients in limbo as cyber attack shuts three hospitals
Thousands of operations and appointments have been cancelled at an NHS Trust after a cyber attack forced management to shut down the computer systems at three hospitals. Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said the cancellations continued into a third day on Wednesday after the attack took place on Sunday. The trust typically has […]
16 latest healthcare data breaches, security incidents
“Here are the 16 latest healthcare data breaches or security incidents that occurred or were reported within the past four weeks, beginning with the most recent. Keck Medicine in Los Angeles, part of University of Southern California, reported two servers were hit with ransomware in August, encrypting files and making them inaccessible to employees. The […]
Fears that patients’ personal medical information has been leaked in Medicare data breach
“There are fears patients’ sensitive medical information could have been made public in a Medicare data breach by the health department. Health Minister Sussan Ley insists the data, which was loaded onto the internet, does not identify patients. But Dr Nathan Pinskier, the chair of the RACGP expert committee for e-health, said it was possible […]
Banner Health faces lawsuits after security breach
“Banner Health faces several lawsuits after revealing on Aug. 2 that 3.7 million customers’ medical records were exposed during a sophisticated hack this summer. “The health care industry has been known to have some of the worst cyber security systems of any industry that holds this kind of sensitive information,” said James Bilsborrow, an attorney […]
Retooled Locky Ransomware Pummels Healthcare Sector
“Cybercriminals wielding Locky crypto-locking ransomware are continuing to ramp up their assaults, especially in the healthcare sector, with attackers distributing less banking malware and more ransomware, according to new research. So far this month, several “massive” new phishing campaigns have been launched, targeting victims in multiple industries with Locky ransomware, security researcher Chong Rong Hwa […]