Healthcare Information Security

Health IT Security and HIPAA News

Audit Controls Underlined in $5.5M OCR HIPAA Settlement

by

UPDATE: Memorial Healthcare System sent comments to HealthITSecurity.com on February 17.  Florida-based Memorial Healthcare Systems (MHS) recently agreed to a $5.5 million OCR HIPAA settlement, stemming from incidents that were reported...

How Secure Communication Platform Benefits TX Health System

by

As more healthcare providers are implementing mobile devices and opting for new technologies to improve patient care, the need for secure communication platforms have become more necessary. Physicians need to be able to communicate with one another,...

Multnomah County Health Department Suffers PHI Breach

by

On August 24, 2012, a Multnomah County Health Department employee automatically forwarded all emails from an employee county email account to a personal Google email account not maintained by the Oregon county. Some of these emails included PHI,...

Healthcare Cybersecurity Attacks Rise 320% from 2015 to 2016

by

Most of the 2016 healthcare data breaches stemmed from hackers, with an overall increase in healthcare cybersecurity attacks of that kind rising 320 percent, according to recent research from Redspin. Specifically, 81 percent of the breached...

25% of Healthcare Orgs Not Encrypting Patient Data in Cloud

by

While more healthcare organizations are considering some form of cloud computing, they might be putting sensitive information at risk by failing to encrypt patient data, according to a recent survey. HyTrust found that even though healthcare...

GAO Urges Improvement in Federal Cybersecurity Measures

by

Improvements must be made to the federal government’s cybersecurity measures, especially to ensure that federal information systems and cyber critical infrastructure remain secure, according to a recent GAO report.   Changes will also...

Cloud Adoption Slows from Lagging Cybersecurity Skills

by

Utilizing cloud computing options is quickly becoming more attractive to numerous industries, including healthcare. However, a recent survey indicates that the number of individuals with the necessary cybersecurity skills is not keeping pace...

ISACA Finds Cybersecurity Skills Gap Leaves 25% of Orgs Exposed

by

Evolving cybersecurity threats pose dangers to numerous industries, including healthcare, but a recent survey indicates that there is a cybersecurity skills gap that leaves entities exposed for months at a time. Over one-third of respondents...

Ransomware, Medical Device Security Top HIMSS17 Topics

by

With HIMSS17 right around the corner, it’s time for healthcare IT professionals to gear up for the annual conference breaking down the industry’s hottest topics. Last year saw a drastic increase in ransomware attacks, so it should...

Nearly Half of Surveyed Patients Worried Over PHI Security

by

With the majority of healthcare data breaches in 2016 stemming from either a hacking or IT-related incident or unauthorized access or disclosure, it should not be a surprise that more patients are concerned with their PHI security. The 2017 Xerox...

Md. Introduces Ransomware Bill with Criminal, Civil Penalties

by

A recent ransomware bill introduced into the Maryland General Assembly calls for steeper penalties for individuals who utilize the malicious software for such attacks. Maryland Senator Sen. Susan Lee sponsored the bill, HB 340, which “creates...

DHS Issues Update on St. Jude Medical Device Vulnerability

by

Successfully exploiting a medical device vulnerability found in certain St. Jude devices may give a remote attacker access to communication endpoints, according to a recent advisory from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The follow-up...

Michigan Cybersecurity Breach Could Impact 22K Patients

by

Flint, Michigan-based Singn and Arora Oncology Hematology is notifying 22,000 patients that some of their information may have been accessed in a cybersecurity breach, according to an ABC12 report. An unauthorized user reportedly accessed...

Lawsuit Filed to Avoid Potential Health Data Exposure Fines

by

A Wisconsin-based publishing company recently filed a lawsuit claiming that it is being exposed to potential liability for unauthorized exposure of individuals’ personal health data. The concern over possible health information exposure...

3 Key Steps for Stronger Data Security in Healthcare

by

There was a recent Forbes article that analyzed the findings from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which looked at the total number of breaches and impacted people in 2015. So, what did OCR find? In 2015, there were 253 healthcare breaches,...

Data Security, Privacy Key in EHNAC Designation with HITRUST

by

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) was recently designated as an Assessor for the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) Common Security Framework (CSF). The move will allow EHNAC to help healthcare organizations...

Preventing Insider Threats from Affecting Health Data Security

by

There are numerous potential threats to health data security, and the increasingly complex level of technology will only help add to that threat level. Insider threats are one key area of concern, as careless or poorly trained employees could...

GAO Finds DHS Cybersecurity Measures Have Room for Improvement

by

While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has worked toward implementing necessary cybersecurity measures in its National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), there are still factors impeding its efficiency and effectiveness,...

How Healthcare IT Teams Bring Value and Security to Providers

by

Over the recent years, some of the most successful healthcare organizations are those that thoroughly involve their IT teams with overall business goals. IT professionals are no longer a silo operation, put in place to put out fires or deal with...

Children’s Medical Center Issued $3.2M OCR HIPAA Penalty

by

Children’s Medical Center of Dallas (Children’s) was recently given an OCR HIPAA civil money penalty due to ePHI disclosure and several years of HIPAA non-compliance, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) release....

Most Read Stories

Upcoming Webcasts

X

SIGN UP and gain free access to articles, white papers, webcasts and exclusive interviews on

HIPAA Compliance
BYOD
Cybersecurity
Data Breaches
Ransomware

Our privacy policy

no, thanks