The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of HHS recently released an audit that found pervasive high-risk security vulnerabilities at 10 state Medicaid agencies. The report is written so as not to provide a road map for attackers who might want to exploit the vulnerabilities but to raise awareness of concerns, i.e., the states are…
St. Joseph Health breach affected 11,800 patients
Martin Espinoza reports some additional details on the St. Joseph Health breach reported here a few days ago: St. Joseph Health mistakenly divulged the private information of 11,800 home health patients — including 1,762 in Sonoma and Napa counties — to an investment firm working on a business proposal for the health system. Neither financial information…
Two Iowa Dept. of Human Services employees blamed for security breaches of more than 2,000 Iowans' personal information
The Iowa Department of Human Services announced Friday that there was a breach in personal information related to some Polk County social work assessments. There are 2,042 individuals whose information was included in the breach, which happened during the assessment period of some child and dependent adult abuse cases. Letters were mailed this week notifying…
Two Iowa Dept. of Human Services employees blamed for security breaches of more than 2,000 Iowans’ personal information
The Iowa Department of Human Services announced Friday that there was a breach in personal information related to some Polk County social work assessments. There are 2,042 individuals whose information was included in the breach, which happened during the assessment period of some child and dependent adult abuse cases. Letters were mailed this week notifying…
Leader Of Identity Theft Ring Targeting Government Employees And Others Sentenced To 12 Years
A follow-up to a case reported previously on this blog: Jenaro Blalock, 31, of Clinton, Md., was sentenced today to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Blalock also was ordered to pay full restitution to the victims. Blalock pleaded guilty on Oct….
WA: Skagit County Government Settles Potential HIPAA Violations
Skagit County, Washington, has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. Skagit County agreed to a $215,000 monetary settlement and to work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to correct deficiencies in its HIPAA compliance program….