Hackers have gained access to email accounts containing protected health information at Injured Workers Pharmacy, iRise Florida Spine and Joint Institute, and Volunteers of America Southwest California. Injured Workers Pharmacy Andover, MA-based Injured Workers Pharmacy has recently reported a data breach to the Maine Attorney General that was discovered on or around May 11, 2021,… Read More »
Ransomware gangs are increasingly targeting unpatched vulnerabilities in software and operating systems to gain access to business networks, and they are weaponizing zero-day vulnerabilities at record speed. Unpatched vulnerabilities are now the primary attack vector in ransomware attacks, according to Ivanti’s Ransomware End of Year Spotlight report. Ivanti partnered with Certifying Numbering Authority (CNA) Cyber… Read More »
The Rhode Island Attorney General is investigating UnitedHealthcare and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) over a cyberattack and data breach that resulted in hackers gaining access to RIPTA’s network that contained the sensitive personal and protected health information of up to 22,000 individuals. The Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General was notified… Read More »
Celo has launched a new healthcare messaging platform for teams in the United States, with U.S. operations run from its Seattle, WA headquarters and led by Celo’s chief growth officer, Jack Clough. Healthcare organizations have been slow to adopt modern communications technologies compared to other industry sectors and pagers, faxes, and email are still extensively… Read More »
In September 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) issued an advisory to the health sector about an elevated threat of BlackMatter ransomware attacks. A few days ago, a second advisory was issued stating the threat level has been reduced to Blue/Guarded. HC3 said the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation… Read More »
Allegheny Health Network Home Infusion Patients Affected by Ransomware Attack on Vendor Pittsburgh, PA-based Allegheny Health Network Home Infusion has been notified about a ransomware attack on one of its vendors, Vantage Healthcare Network, Inc. On October 17, 2021, Vantage detected suspicious activity within its network and engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to investigate the… Read More »
It is important to understand the HIPAA guidelines for nursing students because of the role nursing students play in the provision of healthcare and because of the threats to the privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI) when nursing students have received insufficient training to perform their roles in compliance with HIPAA. The nursing profession is… Read More »
A new report from Kaspersky indicates the massive increase in telehealth has placed healthcare data at risk. Vulnerabilities have been found in the technologies that support telemedicine, many of which have not yet been addressed. Massive Increase in the Use of Telehealth The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in virtual visits, with healthcare… Read More »
The Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County Georgia has recently reported a data breach involving the unauthorized copying of patient data by a former employee of South Georgia Medical Center. On November 12, 2021, security software generated an alert indicating an employee had downloaded data from the hospital’s systems onto a USB drive. The… Read More »
The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule calls for data breach notifications to be issued to the Secretary of the HHS “without unnecessary delay” and no later than 60 days after the date of discovery of a data breach. The same time frame applies to issuing notification letters to affected individuals. There has been a trend in… Read More »