On April 28, DataBreaches reported that two different ransomware groups claimed to have attacked Albany ENT & Allergy Services, P.C. in Albany, New York. This week, Albany ENT & Allergy Services notified regulators and 224,486 affected employees and patients about a breach. Their notification is stunning, however, for its lack of certain details. In their…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
NT Health throws breach notification obligations out the window; says patients should call them to find out if they were affected?!
According to Northern Territory Health’s website, the Australian government agency manages the Northern Territory public health system, operating across five service delivery regions, six hospitals, 74 health clinics, and seven corporate offices. “As NT Health, we work together as one system in partnership with individuals, families, the community, Aboriginal heath organisations and stakeholders to provide…
Microsoft: Notorious FIN7 hackers return in Clop ransomware attacks
Sergiu Gatlan reports: A financially motivated cybercriminal group known as FIN7 resurfaced last month, with Microsoft threat analysts linking it to attacks where the end goal was the deployment of Clop ransomware payloads on victims’ networks. “Financially motivated cybercriminal group Sangria Tempest (ELBRUS, FIN7) has come out of a long period of inactivity,” the company said in…
NYS settles charges against PracticeFirst stemming from 2020 ransomware incident
In July 2021, Professional Business Systems, Inc. d/b/a Practicefirst Medical Management Solutions and PBS Medcode Corp., a medical management company that processes data for health care providers, issued a press release about a hacking incident that occurred in December 2020. As DataBreaches noted at the time, it appeared that they likely paid ransom because one line in their statement…
The Underground History of Russia’s Most Ingenious Hacker Group
Andy Greenberg writes: Ask western cybersecurity intelligence analysts who their “favorite” group of foreign state-sponsored hackers is—the adversary they can’t help but grudgingly admire and obsessively study—and most won’t name any of the multitudes of hacking groups working on behalf of China or North Korea. Not China’s APT41, with its brazen sprees of supply chain attacks, nor…
Health Breach Notification Rule: FTC wants your insights into proposed changes
From the FTC: The Health Breach Notification Rule has been in place since 2009. Given the pace of innovation, that seems like a century in tech years. Since then, we’ve seen an explosion in the popularity of health apps, fitness trackers, and other health-related monitors. To keep up with technological developments and evolving business practices, the…