The Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced a record HIPAA settlement with healthcare insurance giant Anthem following a mega-breach dating back to 2015. The $16 million settlement fee is the largest the country has ever seen, eclipsing the $5.55 million that was agreed with Advocate Health Care in […]
Category: Security
NIST provides new guidance on managing cybersecurity & privacy risks
The healthcare industry is at the forefront of technological adoption when it comes to utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) for improving operational processes and patient care. A global study undertaken in 2017 revealed that 60% of healthcare organizations use IoT devices on their premises, and 87% plan to introduce more IoT technology by 2019. […]
National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2018
October brings with it the 15th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), a collaborative initiative between government and industry that aims to ensure all Americans have the appropriate resources to stay safe and secure online. Since its inception in 2004, NCSAM has been driving to turn internet security into a shared responsibility for customers, […]
Social media poses a constant HIPAA risk
It is well reported that insider threats pose the biggest cyber security risk to healthcare organizations. According to Verizon’s Protected Health Information Data Breach Report, the majority (58%) of healthcare PHI data breaches are caused by insiders. Furthermore, healthcare is the only industry where insider threats pose a greater threat to sensitive data than external […]
Most US businesses lack adequate phishing defenses
Phishing is now the number one cyber threat faced by businesses and it is gaining momentum at an alarming rate; one method that appears to be gaining particular momentum is spear phishing, a method whereby the sender persuades the recipient to share personal information by tricking them into believing they are responding to a trustworthy […]
Healthcare data breach costs on the rise
With many healthcare organizations now coordinating the care of millions of patients and an increasing number of devices and systems connected to the Internet, the threat to the protection of patient healthcare information is on the rise, and carries with it a staggering cost to the public health service. This year IBM Security and Ponemon […]
Healthcare phishing attack leads to biggest breach of 2018
Phishing attacks are a major threat to the healthcare industry and U.S. businesses more generally. The 2018 Verizon data breach report revealed that phishing attacks are not only prominent, they’re also on the rise, with 43% of data breaches stemming from such incidents. Not only are these types of attacks costly in the literal sense […]
10 biggest HIPAA breaches of 2018 so far
As the number of security threats continue to grow, and as criminals become more sophisticated in their methods, keeping protected health information (PHI) safe and secure is becoming increasingly difficult for healthcare organizations. To highlight this, we’ve rounded up the 10 biggest reported HIPAA breaches of 2018 so far. 1. CA Department of Developmental Services […]
5 benefits of interoperability in healthcare
Interoperability in healthcare refers to the ability of different IT systems and applications to communicate, exchange, and interpret shared data with one another. Interoperability allows health information systems to work together across organizational boundaries, leading to more effective healthcare delivery, better patient outcomes, and a host of other health-related benefits. Outlined below are five of […]
