NIST Cybersecurity
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New HIPAA guidance is on the way, here’s the good and the bad.

New HIPAA Guidance Years ago, at a HIPAA conference in DC hosted by NIST, they announced an update to 800-66 would be coming. Almost 10 years later, we now have a draft copy of this paper - 800-66r1. Why is this significant? 800-66 was the…
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OCR announces 11 more HIPAA ROA violations

Eleven more fines, are you next? OCR recently announced that 11 more entities were fined for failing to provide timely access to patient records following a patient complaint. This list included mental health practitioners, dentists, and more.…
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HIPAA and your password policy – are you compliant?

HIPAA and your password. Thanks to NIST, who in 2017 changed their recommended password policy in publication 800-63B, the change/do not change debate has been ongoing. If you aren't familiar with the publication, here's a short news video…
MCG databreach healthcare
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The lawsuits are flowing in the MCG Health breach. Here’s why it’s bad for you.

Vendor Risk MCG Health is a health information services company providing clinical guidelines to hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. They recently reported a breach that had occurred back in 2020, and already lawsuits from their…
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Facebook is collecting your health information. Should you care?

Facebook is bad for your health! A report published this week by the website Newsbusters revealed some disturbing information about Facebook. The news organization ran a battery of tests against 100 US hospitals and discovered a third of them…
HIPAA law changes
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Get ready for major HIPAA changes

HIPAA Changes Ahead In January of 2021, we reported on an amendment to the HITECH act by congress that intended to advance HIPAA compliance and enforcement. The idea was to incentivize Covered Entities to adopt best practices for cybersecurity…
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The hospital attack that wasn’t

How Boston Children's dodged an attack This past week the FBI released details on a cyberattack against Boston Children's Hospital in November of last year. Prior to the attack, CISA and others sent alerts out to the healthcare community warning…
HIPAA violations
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HIPAA Fines Show How You Are Failing

HIPAA violations are on the rise. Although we didn't hear too much about breach-related HIPAA violations during the pandemic, incidents were occurring, and the violations are now being pursued and published. The result is a steady stream of…
OCR HIPAA Cybersecurity
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OCR is soliciting feedback on pending changes

OCR is making HIPAA changes, are you ready? Earlier today the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Request For Information to its constituents (that's us) soliciting feedback for potential changes in two areas. The first area relates to cybersecurity,…
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Critical Google and Microsoft updates

Critical Update Alert Recently Microsoft and Google released a critical security update to their browsers. Since you likely use these browsers in your environment, you need to ensure that they stay up to date. Below we have included sets…
Windows 11
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Why Windows 11 needs to be in your 2022 budget

You need Windows 11 - NOW Another Intel chip, another iPhone, Galaxy, Chromebook, etc., it seems we're always being presented with the latest and greatest version of the technology we're using. While most updated software and devices are feature-packed…
Online Privacy
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Did your privacy take a hit in 2021?

What happened to your data in 2021 We haven't heard much about HIPAA in the past few years while the healthcare industry and regulators grappled with managing and responding to the COVID crisis. But that distraction has proven to be an ideal…
Ukraine russia cyber war
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The latest cyber news

The latest cyber news I'm sorry, I'm just not buying it. If you've been anywhere but under a rock lately, then you've heard about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This week we were treated to the news that Russia has launched a cyberwar against…
Pentagon Breach
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Russia to the Rescue!

Russia to the Rescue! I don't know about you, but it seems we've had a Russia obsession for more than a few years now. If Putin's goal was to live in the heads of our politicians, tormenting their dreams, it sure seems he has succeeded. Not…
Log4Shell
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Log4Shell the simplest of hacks

The simplest of hacks... Imagine being able to hack a server simply by pasting a block of text into a chat window. Well, that's exactly what happened to the game MineCraft's servers over the weekend. The newly discovered vulnerability is called…
Fake email phishing scam
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The Holiday Con

It's that time of year, are you ready? Given the cyber-crime epidemic we are experiencing, it stands to reason this holiday season, historically a peak period for cyber crime, will see a considerable spike in scams. Here's a list of the top…