Years ago, I had hoped more states would require breach notifications to central offices and that states would then share those reports with the public, much as New Hampshire had done.
But things haven’t really become more transparent. Maryland and California remain positive examples of transparency, but New Hampshire’s site, while still available, has lost its functionality in large part, making it harder to find new updates of interest.
And then there’s Vermont, who switched to posting non-downloadable copies of notifications.
I continue to regularly check state sites where I can. I just wish there were more.
Today, for example, I found two notifications on Vermont’s site that involve HIPAA-related entities and protected health information.
One was from Honeybee Health in Culver City, California. Honeybee is a HIPAA-covered pharmacy who discovered in November that customers’ payment card-related information had been compromised for a period of three days by the time it was discovered. So for some patients, payment card info (including cvv) was captured, as was any medication name or Rx information that was input, and the name of any doctor or diagnosis, if entered, as well as the name and postal address that an order was being sent to.
They do not seem to be offering any services to those affected, other than advice on remaining vigilant. They say they have taken steps to add greater security to their payment portal/site.
You can read their notification here.
Then there was also a notice from Reva Inc., a Florida firm that has an air ambulance service. On September 12, they discovered that some employee email accounts had been compromised. Their investigation revealed that the compromise occurred from July 23 – September 13, and involved patients’ name, date of birth, limited clinical information, passport number, insurance number, and dates of service.
They, too, do not seem to be offering those affected any services, but have noted how they have strengthened their security by adding multi-factor authentication and strengthening training for employees on avoiding phishing attacks.
You can read their notification template here.
When I see these reports on a state site when I have not seen them previously in the media or my news searches, it reminds me of how much we may be missing because the majority of states are not requiring breach notifications and then making them publicly available.