Nicole Lewis reports: A Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) survey has revealed that 33% of respondents said their organization has had at least one known case of medical identity theft, and that some cases may never be reported. In addition, only 17% of respondents working for medical practices said they were likely to…
Month: November 2010
Why data breach costs are really going down
Rafael Ruffolo reports: A new study by Telus Corp. reveals that while Canadian organizations reported 29 per cent more data breaches in 2010 versus the previous year, the annual cost of these security issues has dropped substantially. The telecom giant’s report, which polled 500 business and IT professionals, was part of a joint study with…
Ug: Key data stolen from main government registry
Yasiin Mugerwa reports: A substantial amount of official data, including some classified documents on deaths, births and companies has been stolen in what appears to be an “inside job” involving officials in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard yesterday that 28 computers at Uganda Registration Services Bureau, formerly…
NC: County published some property owners’ Social Security Numbers online
Chris Mazzolini reports: The Social Security numbers of 163 New Hanover County property owners were mistakenly published on the county website for anyone to see. The lists containing the numbers were removed from the site Tuesday so county officials could scrub them from the data, said Chairman Jason Thompson, who learned that the numbers were…
World Privacy Forum files two sets of regulatory comments on HIPAA
The World Privacy Forum filed two sets of detailed regulatory comments on recently proposed changes to HIPAA. The first comments focused on proposed changes to HIPAA in the area of marketing patient information. The proposed changes would be harmful to patient privacy, and are contrary to the law. WPF was joined in the marketing comments by…
New Ponemon study: patient data inadequately protected, many hospitals do not notify patients of breaches
The Ponemon Institute has released a new study sponsored by ID Experts, “Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security.” The study examined hospitals’ patient privacy practices, breaches involving patient information, and compliance policies and activities. Sixty-five healthcare organizations participated in the study. The healthcare organizations participating in the study were described as integrated delivery…