When a reporter came into possession of some veterans’ information, the San Antonio VA found itself with a reportable breach and a leak to investigate. From the VA’s report to Congress: Incident Summary During an on-camera interview on the evening of 06/02/14 with 4 VHA employees (identities disguised), the News 4 Reporter from WOAI stated “last week…
NY: Sloane Stecker Physical Therapy notifies 2,000 patients of breach
Sloane Stecker Physical Therapy recently notified 2,000 patients of a breach: June 18, 2014 Re: HIPAA Breach Media Notification Sloane Stecker Physical Therapy, PC recently learned that certain protected health information, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, and potentially other private information, was taken without its authorization from its secure computer network. It is publishing this…
DHS Tells Firefighters, Paramedics Medical Treatment Provides an Opportunity to Identify Extremists
A joint bulletin released in March by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and National Counterterrorism Center instructs firefighters and paramedics to use emergency medical treatment as an opportunity to identify violent extremists. The March 2014 bulletin obtained by Public Intelligence titled “Emergency Medical Treatment Presents Opportunity for Discovery of Violent Extremist Activities” is part…
Sewickley lawyer sues pharmacies, alleges ID theft with pills
Brian Bowling reports: CVS and Giant Eagle pharmacies allowed other people to fill oxycodone prescriptions made out in his name and, in Giant Eagle’s case, then charged his health insurance, a local attorney says in a proposed class-action lawsuit moved to federal court on Monday. Andrew Gabriel, whose office is in Sewickley, is suing the…
Update: Benesse data theft suspect’s smartphone had info on 22.6 million customers
Updated breach estimate and scope: Education services provider Benesse Corp. said personal data on 22.6 million customers were stored on a smartphone owned by the Tokyo systems engineer under arrest on suspicion of theft and illegal copying of customer data. While announcing the figure Monday, Benesse, a subsidiary of Benesse Holdings Inc., said the stolen…
Appeals Court Absolves Sutter Health in Data Breach Case
Scott Graham reports: Sutter Medical Foundation did not violate California’s medical confidentiality act—and expose itself to potentially $4 billion in statutory damages—when a thief stole a computer containing 4 million patients’ medical records, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled Monday. The state’s medical privacy statute was not triggered because there’s no evidence the thief…