Category: Security

Federal HIPAA violation penalties may be capped at $1.5 million per incident per year, but there’s also state and regional fines for those disregarding privacy and security laws. read more …read more    

A recently released breach notification guide from the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange aims to help healthcare organizations assess whether notification is required under the updated HIPAA Omnibus Rule. read more …read more    

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a final version of a voluntary framework for reducing cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure, which includes the healthcare sector. CIOs should review the framework and understand how it aligns with or distracts from their current strategy. Top News Voluntary Federal Cybersecurity Framework Released read more …read…

Of the 619 data breaches recorded by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) in 2013, 43 percent (267 breaches) occurred in the healthcare sector. Of the 619 data breaches recorded by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) in 2013, 43 percent (267 breaches) occurred in the healthcare sector. For the first time since 2005, when…

Google, following up on its move late last year to enter into business associate agreements to enable its Google Apps customers to support HIPAA-regulated data, recently announced that its cloud platform will support BAAs, as well. read more …read more    

In its long-awaited cybersecurity framework, the National Institute of Standards and Technology heeded the call from the American Hospital Association and others to keep it flexible and voluntary in the private sector. read more …read more    

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. Google started inking business associate agreements back in 2013 when the HIPAA…

The rise in medical identity theft in the U.S. in recent years–and in particular, theft involving a breach in technology–has been swift and has left many concerned about the effectiveness of privacy regulations. read more …read more    

The Bryan-based Texas’ St. Joseph Health System (SJHS) recently announced that it experienced a security attack in which hackers gained unauthorized access to one server on its computer system during a two-day span in mid-December. The Eagle has reported that more than 405,000 patient and employee records were stored on the system server. The Bryan-based…

A new report reveals that in 2013, the number of protected health information (PHI) breaches were up 138 percent from 2012, with 199 incidents of breaches of PHI reported to HHS impacting over 7 million patient records. A new report reveals that in 2013, the number of protected health information (PHI) breaches were up 138…