I don’t agree that insider threats are more of a problem than external threats, but I am glad to see insider threats – including “human error” incidents get more attention. Jai Vijayan reports: The healthcare industry’s ability to defend against cyberthreats is being seriously undermined by its own workforce, according to two separate reports released…
Search Results for: HCA
Report: Number of Healthcare Records Breached Hit Four-Year Low in 2017
Rajiv Leventhal reports: In 2017, the number of individuals affected by breaches within the healthcare sector reached a four-year low, according to a new report from Campbell, Calif.-based security company Bitglass. The report revealed that the majority of breaches were due to hacking and IT incidents (71 percent), and that percentage has continued to grow…
Malware incident discovered in May, 2017 affected 2,600 patients: Partners HealthCare System
Partners HealthCare System, whose hospitals include Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s, revealed today that it had discovered a malware attack in May, 2017 that may have exposed 2,600 patients’ information. They learned of the problem on May 8, but because data was mixed in with code, numbers, other data, and unformatted, it took them quite…
Topeka healthcare company fined for failing to protect personal information
I like seeing state attorneys general take enforcement action over breaches, even if the amount of the monetary penalties is quite small, as in this case. This case may remind people who have offices or satellite offices in their homes that they can’t just leave employee or patient data lying around where anyone can see…
Healthcare Data Breach Litigation Trends
Bryan Cave provides a summary analysis of litigation in terms of what kinds of claims tend to fail to demonstrate standing in class action lawsuits and what types of claims may be sufficient to demonstrate standing. What they don’t show on either side of their chart is the question of “are the data involved highly embarrassing/stigmatizing?”…
Analysis of August healthcare breaches highlights hacking incidents
Protenus’s Breach Barometer for August notes that hacking incidents accounted for 54.5% of the health data breaches disclosed in August and 95% of the 673,934 breached records for August incidents. Also of note: Extortion demands and non-automated ransom demands also continue to plague the healthcare industry, although in many cases, media reports and HHS reports make no mention…