The Compliancy Group's HIPAA Blog

14 06, 2019

WannaCry Ransomware Infects 40% of Healthcare Delivery Organizations

Compliancy Group2019-06-14T16:01:39-04:00June 14th, 2019|

Ransomware attacks are increasingly prevalent in the healthcare community. Ransomware attacks use malicious software to gain access to a computer system, usually disabling the system, until an amount of money is paid. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released guidance advising organizations on how to protect themselves against these types of attacks. How to Mitigate Your Risk of Ransomware Attacks The [...]

13 06, 2019

HIPAA encryption at rest

Compliancy Group2019-06-14T10:44:00-04:00June 13th, 2019|

You may ask yourself, why does Compliancy Group require Full Disk Encryption on all devices that connect to, or store ePHI? Why is it a requirement and how will it protect me? What is HIPAA encryption at rest? Below, I will be happy to explain why Full Disk Encryption is so important. We require Full Disk Encryption on all devices that connect to or store ePHI (including servers, [...]

11 06, 2019

Business Associate Agrees to Pay $100K for Potential HIPAA Violations

Compliancy Group2019-06-12T08:49:00-04:00June 11th, 2019|

A HIPAA risk assessment is an essential component of HIPAA compliance. HIPAA Risk and Security Assessments give your business a strong foundation when it comes to protecting your patients’ data. Without performing this assessment, how will you know where you are deficient? More importantly, what will you know to fix? When an organization does not implement proper security measures, a data breach can occur and the results can [...]

14 05, 2019

Centrelake Medical Group Discovers Servers Compromised to Ransomware

Frank Sivilli2019-06-03T11:09:24-04:00May 14th, 2019|

Cybersecurity continues to pose a serious issue to players all throughout the healthcare industry. A recent ransomware incident targeting Centrelake Medical Group, a network of eight medical imaging and oncology centers in California, only underscores this risk. The organization is now notifying patients after discovering a computer virus, which may have exposed their protected health information (PHI). PHI is any demographic information that can be used to identify a [...]

8 05, 2019

195% Increase in Ransomware Attacks, Health Care at Risk

Frank Sivilli2019-05-08T16:07:55-04:00May 8th, 2019|

Ransomware attacks have become a major security concern for many organizations, especially in healthcare. According to a recent report, ransomware attacks on business targets have increased by 195% since the fourth quarter in 2018. Researchers analyzed the combined statistics and intel collected from January 1, 2019 through March 31, 2019. They found that business detection of ransomware attacks increased by more than 500% from the same time frame as [...]

7 05, 2019

$3 Million HIPAA Fine Underscores Importance of HIPAA Risk Assessment

Frank Sivilli2019-06-12T09:23:44-04:00May 7th, 2019|

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has just levied a $3,000,000 HIPAA fine against Touchstone Medical Imaging. The HIPAA fine comes after a breach of the HIPAA Security Rule and HIPAA Breach Notification Rule that affected more than 300,000 patients. Touchstone is a diagnostic medical imaging company based in Franklin, Tennessee, providing services in Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Florida, and Arkansas. In May [...]

6 05, 2019

How Advanced Cybersecurity and HIPAA Compliance Protects You

Frank Sivilli2019-05-06T16:42:21-04:00May 6th, 2019|

Cybersecurity has been an ongoing concern across the healthcare industry. Cyberattacks are not only negatively affecting businesses in healthcare, but also the privacy and security of patients’ data. Unfortunately, basic security tools are no longer making the cut. Now, healthcare organizations must turn to a new advanced solutions for the protection they need from increasingly advanced and more prevalent means of cyberattack. Organizations are not only finding themselves at [...]

2 05, 2019

Self-Insured HIPAA Violation? Data Breach Affects 9,300

Frank Sivilli2019-05-21T14:42:22-04:00May 2nd, 2019|

It’s not just healthcare providers that need to worry about HIPAA compliance. A recent incident demonstrates how self-insured companies are at just as much risk as doctors and medical practices when it comes to HIPAA regulations & violations. Klaussner Furniture Industries, Inc., a 55-year old privately owned furniture manufacturer based out of Asheboro, North Carolina experienced a hacking incident in early April. The company discovered an unauthorized user gained [...]

1 05, 2019

New OCR Guidance: HIPAA Compliant Apps and Health Information

Frank Sivilli2019-05-21T14:40:22-04:00May 1st, 2019|

In April of 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a new series of guidance in the form of FAQs about HIPAA compliant apps, health information, and the disclosure of PHI. HIPAA guidance is routinely issued by OCR to clarify changes to enforcement or regulatory activity as a result of changes and trends in the health care industry. Oftentimes, this [...]

30 04, 2019

Is Slack HIPAA Compliant?

Frank Sivilli2019-05-14T16:33:02-04:00April 30th, 2019|

More and more businesses are joining Slack to improve their internal communications. But when it comes to health care organizations and their needs, the question becomes: is Slack HIPAA compliant? While Slack and messaging apps like it can make collaborating easier and more efficient, there are still many grey areas surrounding its use in healthcare and whether this platform is the right fit for maintaining data privacy and security [...]