Oklahoma City Indian Clinic and Law Enforcement Health Benefits Inc. have confirmed they were recent victims of cyberattacks, both of which involved the use of ransomware. Ransomware Attack Affects 85,282 Law Enforcement Health Benefits Members Law Enforcement Health Benefits, Inc. (LEHB) has recently announced that it was the victim of a ransomware attack that was… Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced its first financial penalties of 2022 to resolve alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Three of the cases were settled with OCR, and one resulted in a civil monetary penalty being imposed. OCR is continuing to… Read More »
A new bill has been proposed by a bipartisan pair of senators that aims to improve the cybersecurity of the healthcare and public health (HPH) sector, in light of the recent warning from the White House about the increased threat of Russian cyber threats. Last week, President Biden and the White House issued a warning… Read More »
Three email incidents have recently been reported by Ultimate Care, CareOregon Advantage, and University Medical Center Southern Nevada that have affected a total of 38,485 individuals. Phishing Attack on Ultimate Care Impacts 15,788 Individuals The Brooklyn, NY-based home care agency, Ultimate Care, has recently announced that a limited number of employee email accounts have been… Read More »
Horizon Actuarial Services, Clinic of North Texas, and Parkland Community Health Plan have recently announced breaches of the protected health information of patients and plan members. Horizon Actuarial Services Reports Data Theft and Extortion Incident Horizon Actuarial Services (HAS) has recently announced a security breach and the theft of the personal data of members of… Read More »
Healthcare workers access electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) on a daily basis – most often via the use of password-protected EHRs. In order to mitigate the risk of ePHI being hacked, compromised, or unavailable due to a cyberattack, healthcare workers should be using a password manager that generates, stores, and auto-fills complex passwords. Earlier this… Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released its 2021 Internet Crime Report, which reveals there were at least 649 ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure organizations from June 2021 to December 2021. 14 of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors reported at least one ransomware attack, although the healthcare and public… Read More »
Chelan Douglas Health District in East Wenatchee, WA, has announced it was the victim of a cyberattack in July 2021 in which the personal and protected health information of patients was exfiltrated from its systems. The breach notice uploaded to Chelan Douglas Health District website does not disclose when the breach was detected but says… Read More »
New Jersey Brain and Spine (NJBS) has recently announced it was the victim of a cyberattack on or around November 16, 2021, that encrypted data on its network. NJBS said it immediately took steps to secure its network and engaged a computer forensic firm to investigate the security breach. While no evidence has been found… Read More »
Present Biden has issued a warning about the increased threat of cyberattacks by Russian state-sponsored hackers as a result of the economic sanctions imposed on the country in response to the invasion of Ukraine. President Biden said the warning is based on “evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.” A… Read More »