While the healthcare industry looks at 2014 as the year to strengthen breach prevention and data protection initiatives, experts predict that Healthcare breach suits will be common this year. And true to this fact, dozens of lawsuits have already been filed in the case of the Target breach, which involved theft of two unencrypted laptop…
With contributions of a few mega healthcare data breaches in 2013, the number of individuals affected now is more than twice the number in 2012. While three recent breaches that grabbed the headlines have not yet been added to the official 2013 tally, once the number of affected individuals is confirmed, the breach tally for…
Every healthcare business is vulnerable, and therefore needs an effective means to deal with ever-growing threats and challenges. In an interview with Healthcare Info Security, Lee Kim, the Director of Privacy and Security at HIMSS discussed the issues faced by the healthcare industry and offered insights. “Keeping track of where sensitive data is located, detecting…
Protected health information of nearly 277,000 patients at Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth has been compromised after several hospital microfilms, which were supposed to be destroyed, were found in three different public locations. While the patients are being notified about this data breach, it is believed that information including patient names, addresses, dates of…
For most information security officers, winning funds for IT security investments remains one of the top challenges. While on the one hand the healthcare industry is seeing rigorous enforcement of information security regulations, on the other, most healthcare entities are yet to understand the importance of investing in information security measures. Decision-makers often have to…
According to GartnerG2 (now Gartner Industry Advisory Services) a research unit of Gartner, 90% of cyber attacks leverage known security flaws and vulnerabilities, for which patches are already available. Gartner analysts also believe that several security attacks could have been avoided if organizations had focused more on vulnerability management efforts. Effective vulnerability management is therefore…
According to market analyst firm IDC, file data accounts for nearly 80% of business data and has been growing at a rate of 60% every year. With such overwhelming growth in the volume of sensitive data files, persistent insider threats and complex regulatory mandates for data protection, there is immense pressure on organizations to secure…
Gone are the days when hackers attacked perimeter defences. Today their objective is to take control of confidential data and the applications which process them. Hacking is now an operation involving global coordination, sophisticated techniques and persistent teamwork. And with clear roles and responsibilities being defined in the community, hacking is now a highly organized,…
Computer-based criminal activity is not a new trend. It has been prevalent for several years. However, we cannot deny the fact that illegal activities such as data theft and misuse have become far more pervasive in the recent years. And in most cases backup data seem to be the main target of cyber criminals. There…
While the financial services regulatory reform bill signed into law by President Obama last week will take some time to be put into practice, several industry experts have noted that this extensive legislation holds immense significance for information/ data security. Creation of a new consumer protection agency at the Federal Reserve, provision of new powers…
