As hackers become more sophisticated, it is important to keep up to date with new threats. There are two new threats that are concerning in that they are difficult to recognize and detect. One of these threats is a very convincing phishing scam, while the other is a malicious encryption scheme that evades ransomware detection software. Although these are not necessarily healthcare cybersecurity threats, they target businesses across [...]
Malware and ransomware attacks have become more prevalent in recent times across all industries and market sectors. Large-scale attacks such as the ones perpetrated on Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods were widely covered by the media. But these are not the only examples of successfully conducted attacks on businesses of all types and sizes. The healthcare industry presents attractive targets for hackers [...]
There were a staggering 4,774,165 patients affected by July’s 58 healthcare information breaches. The majority of these breaches were reported by healthcare providers, representing 65% of the total number of breaches for the month, and 71% of the total number of patients affected. And while it’s unsurprising, hacking incidents were the leading cause behind the month’s breaches, representing 72% of reported breaches, and 96% of patients affected by [...]
Each year, IBM Security and Ponemon Institute publish their “Cost of a Data Breach Report” in which they assess the previous year’s data breaches. In the 2021 breach report, it was determined that 2020 healthcare data breaches cost organizations $2 million to $9.42 million per incident. Furthering that ransomware attacks cost an organization an average of $4.62 million per incident. With ransomware attacks accounting for more than half [...]
Orlando Family Physicians announced that it suffered a healthcare data breach, potentially exposing the protected health information (PHI) of 447,426 patients. In a statement posted on their website, OFP cites the cause as a phishing email that allowed unauthorized access to the email accounts of four employees. What Happened? On April 15, 2021, OFP discovered that an unauthorized party gained access to an employee’s email account using the [...]
Ransomware attacks continue to rise, especially those targeting healthcare organizations. Hackers often target healthcare organizations in ransomware attacks to disrupt operations in hopes that the organization will pay a ransom. Healthcare organizations are also targeted in data theft incidents because patient information can be extremely valuable on the black market. This is why it has never been more important to protect your organization by improving your healthcare security. [...]
Recently, a healthcare class action lawsuit was filed against Einstein Healthcare. The lead plaintiff in the healthcare lawsuit is patient Nanette Katz. In August of 2020, Einstein was the victim of a phishing attack that led to numerous employee email accounts being accessed by someone without authorization. The 51-page complaint alleges Einstein Healthcare failed to secure and safeguard the protected health information (PHI) of patients, and failed to [...]
We have reached the time of the month where we take a look at the previous month’s healthcare breaches. March saw a whopping 62 healthcare breaches, affecting 2,913,084 patients (more than double the amount of patients affected by February healthcare breaches). In March 2021, health plans were the biggest target with 1,629,885 patients’ files potentially exposed through their health plan. Healthcare providers were the second largest target [...]
With 1.2 million patients affected by February 2021 healthcare breaches, healthcare security should be at the top of mind for organizations working with patient information. Therefore, healthcare and cybersecurity are both important to maintain. To provide guidance on protecting your organization against breaches, 12 tips to improve your healthcare security are discussed. How to Improve Healthcare Security There are 12 things that you [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) publicly posts breaches affecting 500 or more patients to its breach portal. There were 45 incidents reported in February 2021 affecting 1,234,943 patients. 35 of these incidents targeted healthcare providers, representing 82.29% of affected patients. 5 of these incidents targeted health plans, representing 13.64% of affected patients. 5 of these incidents targeted business associates, representing [...]
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