Mathematically, the gap between $3.6 million and $17,000 is a chasm.This is something you know well if you’re Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, which paid the latter number to unlock patient data held hostage by malicious hackers using ransomware when the former number is what the hackers initially asked for.While the dramatic reduction in ransom may have caused Hollywood Presbyterian to breathe a sigh of relief, there is no reason they or you should feel comforted. Consider this an initial shot
Read More
HIPAA Viiolations
Senate & House Committee Leaders Demand Answers on 316 Security Breaches on HealthCare.gov
Republican committee leaders in the Senate and House today asked the administration for information about the 316 security breaches on HealthCare.gov catalogued in a new report released by the nonpartisan government watchdog, the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Between October 2013 to March 2015, HealthCare.gov had 316 security incidents, including 41 which involved personally identifiable information.
The GAO reported that HHS does not have complete records of how many people these
Read More
Can You Maintain HIPAA Consent While Using Email?
Editor's Note: Erik Kangas is the Presdient and CEO of LuxSci, a SaaS company specializing in security, privacy, HIPAA compliance, and all things email. He also consults on email best practices, secure web site architectures, and HIPAA compliance to organizations around the globe.
The way personal health information has been gathered, stored, and protected over the years has seen a great number of changes. Up until 1996, when Congress first passed the Health Insurance Portability and
Read More
The High Cost of HIPAA Violations [Infographic Wednesdays]
Infographic details some of the most serious penalties ever given by the federal government for the high cost of HIPAA violations.
Security breaches have increased over 32% over the past year in healthcare organizations costing an estimated 6.5 billion dollars annually according to a study by the Ponemon Institute. Last week, the HHS office for Civil Rights issued its first enforcement action against the state of Alaska settling with Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for
Read More
