Matt Burgess reports: WHEN THE PHONES and computer networks went down at Ridgeview Medical Center’s three hospitals on October 24, 2020, the medical group resorted to a Facebook post to warn its patients about the disruption. One local volunteer-run fire department said ambulances were being diverted to other hospitals; officials reported patients and staff were safe. The downtime at the Minnesota medical…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Mobile phone operator Cosmote and parent company OTE fined by Hellenic DPA over 2020 data breach slapped with fine over data breach
Ekathimerini reports: Mobile phone operator Cosmote and parent company OTE have been slapped with fines of over 9 million euros by Greece’s Data Protection Authority over a breach of user records in September 2020. Specifically, the watchdog fined Cosmote 6 million euros for failing to protect a file containing the call histories of thousands of…
Can Data Breaches Be Good For Some Corporate Brands?
Christos Makridis writes: Surprisingly, data breaches can be good for some corporate brands, a new study shows. When hackers pirate their way past corporate firewalls and publicize the private lives of consumers, the betrayal of consumer trust and the aura of corporate incompetence should sink a company’s reputation. But the real world is more complicated….
Scripps Breach Too California Heavy for Federal Courtroom
Samantha Hawkins reports: A proposed class action against Scripps Health over a 2021 data breach was thrown out of federal court Wednesday, when a Southern District of California judge said too many Californians meant it lacked jurisdiction. Surprised? I was. But Hawkins explains: But because most—96.3%—of the 144,011 individuals notified about the ransomware attack had…
New York State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases School District Audits
The state comptroller has released two more school district audits of information technology. Putnam Valley Central School District – Information Technology (2021M-154) Audit Period July 1, 2019 – May 31, 2021. We extended the audit period forward through July 28, 2021 to complete IT testing. Quick District Facts Local User Accounts 2,626 Employees 502 Student…
The high cost of mishandling data breaches, security reporting for financial services
Karen Hoffman reminds readers of the costs of poor security, reporting, in part: Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Chase $125 million due to employees’ insecure practices, namely using WhatsApp and personal email accounts to transact official business, thus not adhering to SEC record-keeping requirements. Additionally, under a separate enforcement action,…