Scott Maucione reports: The past 12 months were the year of the cyberattack. Government agencies, infrastructure, private companies and citizens were all impacted by cyber breaches. In its year-end privacy review, the Department of Homeland Security’s Privacy Office is touting its privacy and security policies and initiatives to protect its federal workers and the United States from future cyber…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
OCR should fine entities that close and just dump patient records
Seriously. How many times will see news reports of how medical practices closed their doors and just dumped patient records? Here’s another case this week, reported by WSFA in Alabama, who made great efforts to track down someone – anyone – who might be able to help identify the culprit (and yes, I use the…
Canadian data breaches in 2015: Big firms weren’t the only targets
Howard Solomon reports: Of all the publicly-disclosed data or privacy breaches in this country in 2015, one topped them all by a wide margin: Ashley Madison. With over 30 million records exposed from the dating site, a $578 million class action suit filed against parent Avid Life Media, the CEO resigning after his emails were…
New Jersey Psychology Practice Revealed Patients’ Mental Disorders in Debt Lawsuits
by Charles Ornstein ProPublica, Dec. 23, 2015, 5 a.m. This story was co-published with The New York Times. When a New Jersey lawyer named Philip received legal papers last year informing him that his former psychologist’s practice was suing him over an unpaid bill, he was initially upset they could not work out a payment…
97 Japanese web site attacks reportedly involving Anonymous since September
IANS reports: Japanese police on Sunday announced that the international network of activist and hacktivist entities, Anonymous, has attacked at least 97 websites in Japan since September. The National Police Agency said cyber attacks by Anonymous have intensified since September. Read more on BGR.
The Weakest Link in Banks’ Fight Against Hackers
Robin Sidel reports: Terrified by a string of recent hacks, banks are spending billions of dollars trying to fend off a faceless army of digital intruders. But the biggest threats may come from within. Banks fear a growing number of employees are unwittingly exposing valuable information to hackers or in some cases leaving digital clues that…