By now, most people are aware of a statement by AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong that blamed employee benefits cuts on two “distressed babies” where the health plan had paid out one million dollars each for the babies’ care. His comments were disturbing on a number of levels, but did his statement violate HIPAA’s Privacy Rule?…
Google cloud gets on board with HIPAA
Erin McCann reports: To all the developers building applications in the cloud that need to comply with HIPAA privacy rules: You’ve just gained a big ally. Internet behemoth Google recently announced its cloud platform will now be HIPAA-friendly and will support business associate agreements going forward. Read more on Healthcare IT News.
Anonymous Italy starts #opCannabis and hacks state anti-drug websites
On Saturday 8th of February, Anonymous Italy initiated #opCannabis, in order to show their support for the demonstration for cannabis legislation reform held that day in Rome, calling for an end to cannabis prohibition and the persecution of users and growers. The first attack started on the 8th and targeted the website of the Italian drug…
NC: Cryptolocker scambles US law firm’s entire cache of legal files
John E. Dunn reports: A small US law firm has bravely admitted losing its entire cache of legal documents to the Cryptolocker Trojan despite attempting to pay the $300 (£180) ransom in a bid to have them unscrambled. According to TV reports, Goodson’s law firm in the North Carolina state capital Charlotte [The Law Offices of Paul M. Goodson, P.C.] became the…
South Floridian Sentenced In Identity Theft Scheme
Robinson Calixte, 22, of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham o 47 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for identity theft. On September 13, 2013, Calixte was charged in a five count indictment for identity theft in connection with his unauthorized possession of at least fifteen social…
TX: Seven Metroplex Residents Charged In ID Theft Conspiracy
A total of seven metroplex residents have been charged in a 13-count superseding indictment, with various offenses related to an identity theft scheme they ran from October 2009 to July 2013, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. In addition to each being charged with one count of conspiracy to…