St. Louis University in Missouri reports that its network was hacked and that personally identifiable and protected health information were on the servers that were accessed without authorization. A statement on their web site dated January 31 indicates that the breach occurred on December 12 and was discovered on the 13th. An investigation conducted by…
Author: Dissent
Docs withhold records from victims of medical ID theft
Unintended – and unwelcome – consequences of HIPAA? Isaac Wolf reports: Medical providers say that federal law hamstrings ID theft victims from seeing files created in their name: That’s because medical records created about all patients — including identity thieves who use your name – are covered by privacy rules in the Health Insurance Portability…
Health Net Delays Notification of Data Breach Involving 2 Million People
Okay, I’ve been known to be a bit harsh at times in commenting on breaches, but even I think this implied criticism in reporting by Brian T. Horowitz on eWeek is a bit too much: Insurer Health Net waited until March 14 to disclose a data breach discovered on Jan. 21 involving the loss of…
AZ: County employees unhappy about saliva test
UPI reports: An Arizona county is trying to get reliable data on whether its employees are smokers by testing saliva, a move some workers are resisting. “They gotta do what they gotta do, but it is kind of an invasion of our privacy,” Dee Webber, a Maricopa County accounting employee and admitted smoker, told The…
CA: 200 ID Theft Cases Traced to Burger Joint
Sam Cohen reports: Vacaville investigators are asking diners of a burger restaurant to check their bank statements following a string of identity thefts. Almost 200 people have been identified as victims in this identity theft case. Cops were first alerted to it in early March, and traced the credit card number thefts back to Nation’s…
GAO Report: “Information Security: IRS Needs to Enhance Internal Control over Financial Reporting and Taxpayer Data”
A new GAO report indicates that the IRS still needs to do more to improve security. The summary of their report, emphasis added by me: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a demanding responsibility in collecting taxes, processing tax returns, and enforcing the nation’s tax laws. It relies extensively on computerized systems to support its…