Sometimes patients are willing victims of misuse of their records. We generally don’t see the government prosecuting patients for participating in fraud schemes like the one described below by DOJ, but I almost wish that they occasionally would prosecute participating patients. Then, too, do these patients get counted as “medical identity theft” victims in the…
UK: Two plead guilty to 2015 TalkTalk data breach
Shaun Nichols reports the latest on the 2015 TalkTalk hack: Two chaps in the UK have admitted stealing more than 150,000 customer records from TalkTalk. Matthew Hanley, 22, and Connor Douglass Allsopp, 20, both from Tamworth, copped to charges in connection to the 2015 attack on the broadband ISP’s systems and subsequent attempts to sell people’s…
A Heart-to-Heart from the Hackers: Cyber-Vulnerabilities in Cardiac Devices
Robert Radick writes: Just over a year ago, this blog took note of a governmental letter that powerfully underscored the dangers of cyberattacks in the healthcare industry. The letter, which then-Senator Barbara Boxer had sent to FBI Director James Comey, discussed the serious risks that hospitals and other institutional health care providers face from cyberattacks,…
Man wanted for 17 burglaries in medical offices at Inova Fair Oaks; cash, iPads stolen
Nancy Chen reports: A man is wanted for 17 burglaries at medical offices on the Inova Fair Oaks Medical Campus, and police say cash and iPads were stolen on April 22 in Fairfax County, Virginia. Read more on ABC. So what was on those iPads? Any PII or PHI? We don’t yet know…..
Customer Data From Encrypted Phone Company Ciphr Dumped Online
Joseph Cox reports: The industry for so-called encrypted or secure phones is a lively one. Several firms sell custom BlackBerry or Android devices that may come pre-loaded with tools such as PGP email for sending messages, and some of these companies’ products have allegedly been used by organized crime. But it’s also a competitive market….
US ISP Goes Down as Two Malware Families Go to War Over Its Modems
Catalin Cimpanu reports: Two malware families battling for turf are most likely the cause of an outage suffered by Californian ISP Sierra Tel at the beginning of the month. This outage took place on April 10, 2017, when Sierra Tel customers started complaining about losing Internet and telephone connectivity. While initially there were unconfirmed rumors…