The Indiana Attorney General Office (OAG) filed a detailed complaint on December 23, 2024 (Complaint) which arose out of the following patient complaint:
The OAG received a consumer complaint stating that the consumer had...more
On November 8, 2024, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) voted to advance proposed regulations concerning automated decisionmaking technology. While the comment period is ongoing and we do not have final rules, we...more
As the healthcare sector continues to be a top target for cyber criminals, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued proposed updates to the HIPAA Security Rule (scheduled to be published in the Federal Register January 6). It...more
1/2/2025
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
HITECH Act ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Malware ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management
A healthcare provider delivering pain management services in Florida and other states faces a $1.19 million civil monetary penalty from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR)....more
12/5/2024
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
OCR ,
Risk Management ,
Security Rule
Announcing its fourth ransomware cybersecurity investigation and settlement, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also observed there has been a 264% increase in large ransomware breaches since 2018....more
9/30/2024
/ Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management
If there is one thing artificial intelligence (AI) systems need is data and lots of it as training AI is essential for achieving success for a given use case. A recent investigation by Australia’s privacy regulator into the...more
9/26/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Australia ,
Consent ,
Cybersecurity ,
De-Identification ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OCR ,
Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) ,
PHI ,
Training
A little more than three years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) posted cybersecurity guidance on its website for ERISA plan fiduciaries. That guidance extended only to ERISA-covered retirement plans, despite health and...more
Maryland’s governor recently signed the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024 (MODPA), making Maryland one of six states—along with Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island—to pass a comprehensive...more
On April 17, 2024, Nebraska’s governor signed Legislative Bill 1074, which establishes a consumer data privacy law for the state. Nebraska’s law takes effect January 1, 2025. To Whom does the law apply? The law applies to...more
On April 22, 2024, the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a final rule enhancing privacy protections relating to reproductive health care. Specifically, the final rule...more
“Cybersecurity” has emerged as one of top risks facing organizations. Considering the steady stream of massive data breaches affecting millions (sometimes billions), the debilitating effects of ransomware on an organization’s...more
4/11/2024
/ Biometric Information ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
FERPA ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Genetic Testing ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
Tracking Systems
As organizations continue to take steps to prevent cyberattacks, a near-universal recommendation is that they should implement multi-factor authentication (MFA), and for good reason. Organizations subject to the updated FTC...more
On March 6, 2024, New Hampshire’s Governor signed Senate Bill 255, which establishes a consumer data privacy law for the state. The Granite State joins the myriad of state consumer data privacy laws. It is the second state in...more
3/7/2024
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
COPPA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Controller ,
Data Privacy ,
Governor Sununu ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
New Legislation ,
Personal Data ,
State Privacy Laws
For healthcare providers and health systems covered by the privacy and security regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a breach of unsecured protected health information (PHI)...more
1/29/2024
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Mining ,
Data Protection ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Subcontractors ,
Vendors
To celebrate Data Privacy Day (January 28), we present our top ten data privacy and cybersecurity predictions for 2024.
1. AI regulations to protect data privacy.
Automated decision-making tools, smart cameras, wearables,...more
1/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audits ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action ,
COPPA ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Web Tracking
Phishing has long been a favorite tactic for threat actors (hackers) to commence a cyberattack. The rapid expansion of more adaptable and available artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as natural language...more
1/5/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Email ,
Employee Training ,
FBI ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
OCR ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
As the year comes to a close here are some of the highlights from the Workplace Privacy, Data Management & Security Report with our Top 10 most popular topics from 2023....more
12/21/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
SHIELD Act ,
UK ,
Workplace Privacy
Many HIPAA covered entities and business associates struggle with developing and implementing a sanctions policy. What should it say, is zero-tolerance required, do we have to impose discipline in every case, etc. These are...more
10/25/2023
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Privacy Rule ,
Sanctions ,
Security Rule ,
Training ,
Web Tracking ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
Most human resources professionals are concerned about the privacy and security of the vast amounts of personal information they manage. This article discusses steps to consider taking against the challenges.
Deluge of...more
10/3/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Deletion ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Training ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Information Technology ,
Personal Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour
What do ransomware, Yelp, and website tracking technologies all have in common? They are troubling areas of concern for HIPAA covered entities and business associates, according to one official from the federal Office for...more
The healthcare sector is a prime target for data breaches. According to a summary by the HIPAA Journal, 32% of all data breaches between 2015 and 2022 were in the healthcare sector, “almost double the number recorded in the...more
Recently, things may have sped up a little in your doctor’s office. The notes for your recent visit may have been organized and filed a little more quickly. You might have received assistance sooner than expected with a...more
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission have sent a joint letter to approximately 130 hospital systems and telehealth providers to emphasize the risks and concerns about the use of...more
7/21/2023
/ Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Technology ,
Telehealth ,
Web Tracking
On June 26, 2023, the Governor of Connecticut signed Senate Bill (SB) 3 which set forth new requirements related to consumer health data and protections for minors online.
As Connecticut’s comprehensive consumer privacy...more
On June 18, 2023, Texas’ Governor signed House Bill (HB) 4 which enacts the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. Texas joins California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia in enacting...more