Sometimes, an incident that doesn’t appear to require notification may require notification under HIPAA. In an August, 2018 incident reported on The Elkhart Truth that involved Goshen Health, the health system originally determined that no notification was required, but when forensic investigators came in months later and looked for any information that might have been…
PA: Wyoming Area School District pays $38,000 ransom to free their network from attack
Andy Mehalshick reports: A school district in Luzerne County confirmed Tuesday it was the victim of a ransomware attack that locked up their computers for weeks. Wyoming Area School District officials say they had no choice but to pay up to free their computer network. “It slowed things down,” Wyoming Area senior Jack Dileo said….
Sarrell Dental notifies almost 400,000 patients after ransomware attack
Sarrell Dental in Alabama notified HHS on Sept 12 of an incident impactng 391,472 patients, but their report did not get posted right away, which may explain why this incident has pretty much flown under the media radar. According to Wikipedia, Sarrell Dental and Eye Centers, is a non-profit orgranization and the largest dental provider in…
Senate Passes Bill Aimed At Combating Ransomware Attacks
Lindsey O’Donnell reports: The U.S. Senate has approved new legislation aimed at helping government agencies and private-sector companies combat ransomware attacks. The legislation comes as local governments and schools continue to be hit by sophisticated – and in some cases coordinated – ransomware attacks. The proposed law, the “DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act,” authorizes…
Over 500 US schools were hit by ransomware in 2019
Catalin Cimpanu reports: In the first nine months of the year, ransomware infections have hit over 500 US schools, according to a report published last week by cyber-security firm Armor. In total, the company said it found and tracked ransomware infections at 54 educational organizations like school districts and colleges, accounting for disruptions at over…
Sioux Falls VA notifies patients after HIPAA breach
KSFY reports: Officials with the Sioux Falls Veteran Affairs Health Care System are warning patients about a potential breach of privacy. The incident stems from letters sent to a Sioux Falls VA mail room printer on August 21, according to Public Affairs Officer Erin Bultje. VA staff were not aware the mail room printer was…