Daniel Solove writes: One of the things that struck me about the Ebola cases at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital was that all of the Ebola victims were named almost immediately. How could this happen? In all the swirling news coverage, I was struck by the fact that few were asking the question: Why were all of…
Tenet agrees to pay $32.5 million to settle 17 year-old privacy breach class-action lawsuit
There’s been a settlement in a breach-related lawsuit that many of us probably never heard of as the breach was more than 17 years ago. Jim Mustian reports: A hospital chain has agreed to pay up to $32.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in 1997 after stacks of medical records sat unattended for…
Which Big Retailer Hasn’t Reported a Major Breach — Yet?
Jordan Robertson reports: … What may not be apparent amid the deluge of bad news is who’s not on the list. While scores of household names have fallen victim to hackers, some pillars of U.S. retail have managed to stay out of the headlines. So far. At a time when it may seem like there are few safe…
Personal info of almost 100,000 people exposed through flaw on site for student transcripts
Ashkan Soltani, Julie Tate and Ellen Nakashima report: The personal information of almost 100,000 people seeking their high school transcripts was recently exposed on a Web site that helps students obtain their records. The site, NeedMyTranscript.com, facilitates requests from all 50 states and covers more than 18,000 high schools around the country, according to its Web…
Graybill Medical Group notifies patients whose x-rays were dumped instead of securely destroyed
One of the recent additions to HHS’s public breach tool was an entry for Graybill Medical Group in California, who reported a breach that affected 1,863 patients. A notice on their web site explains that on October 20, they notified affected patients whose protected health information was accidentally disclosed when x-ray films slated for secure destruction were mistakenly placed in…
What's behind the dramatic rise in medical identity theft?
A decentralized U.S. health system, increasing digitization of records, and demand in the black market are fueling a surge in thefts, Laura Shin reports on Fortune.