By now, many are aware that Jones Day, a giant law firm, had some of its files stolen due to vulnerabilities in the standalone file transfer administration system by Accellion. Jones Day is one of dozens of Accellion clients that have found themselves investigating and dealing with breaches affecting their businesses and clients. The Jones…
Category: HIPAA
March 1, 2021: Deadline for Reporting 2020 Small Healthcare Data Breaches
Reminder: March 1, 2021: Deadline for Reporting 2020 Small Healthcare Data Breaches
When to Report a Breach: Consideration of Encryption States
Matt Fisher of Carium writes: Data breaches grab headlines on a daily basis and arise from a number of different scenarios. However, one question that is not necessarily examined closely (at least in news articles), is whether encryption was in place and why the encryption did not prevent the breach. That rhetorical question does not…
What Does the Fifth Circuit’s Vacating of HHS HIPAA Fines Mean for Companies This Year?
Here is some more commentary on the Fifth Circuit opinion in MD Anderson v. HHS. Elfin Noce, Liisa Thomas & Susan Ingargiola of SheppardMullin write, in part: On the ruling regarding the disclosure of ePHI, the Fifth Circuit held that HHS had failed to establish that MD Anderson disclosed ePHI to someone outside of the covered entity. The…
HITECH Amendment Provides Some Protection For Covered Entities and Business Associates that Adopt Recognized Security Standards
Anna D. Kraus, Libbie Canter, Tara Carrier, and Olivia Vega of Covington & Burling write: On January 5, 2021, an amendment to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act was signed into law. The amendment requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to “consider certain recognized security practices of covered…
HIPAA Enforcement by State Attorneys General
HIPAA Journal has a nice recap of of HIPAA enforcement actions by states attorney general. You can read it here.