Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

FTC Bans Online Counseling Firm From Sharing Health Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 2, 2023

Online counseling provider BetterHelp is set to come under two decades of privacy monitoring by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission after settling allegations that it violated users' privacy by sharing identifying information with social media platforms including Facebook.

Irish Authorities Levy GDPR Fine in Centric Health Breach

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 1, 2023

Irish authorities have fined a healthcare organization 460,000 euros - about $490,000 - for a 2019 Calum ransomware breach that compromised sensitive information of 70,000 patients, including the permanent deletion of data for about 2,500 of them.

FTC: Amazon, One Medical Must Keep Privacy Promises

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 1, 2023

The Federal Trade Commission is warning Amazon and One Medical to abide by their promises to protect consumers' data privacy. The statement comes in the wake of Amazon's $3.9 billion purchase of the primary healthcare on-site and virtual services provider.

Supreme Court Hears Healthcare Identity Theft Case

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 28, 2023

A case before the U.S. Supreme Court may limit federal prosecutors' ability to bring charges of aggravated identity theft. A Texas man convicted of overbilling Medicaid argued Monday he's not also guilty of identity theft since he had a patient's permission to submit the bill.

Telehealth Privacy Concerns to Be in Spotlight Post-COVID-19

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 27, 2023

With the U.S. COVID-19 public health emergency expected to end in May, the government is set to scrutinize telehealth providers for HIPAA violations. That’s why healthcare firms should review their telehealth platforms and vendors, says privacy attorney Adam Greene of Davis Wright Tremaine.

Authorities Warn Healthcare Sector of Ongoing Clop Threats

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 24, 2023

Federal authorities are urging the healthcare sector to ratchet up defenses against potential assaults by Russian-linked Clop on the heels of the ransomware-as-a-service group's recent alleged mass attacks exploiting a vulnerability in vendor Fortra's secure file transfer software GoAnyWhere MFT.

LA School District Confirms Student Data Leaked in Attack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 23, 2023

The Los Angeles Unified School District confirmed that records containing mental health data and other sensitive information of about 2,000 students, including 60 current pupils, were among data leaked in a ransomware attack last fall by Russian hacking group Vice Society.

5 Lawsuits Filed in Ransomware Breach Affecting 3.3 Million

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 22, 2023

Five proposed class action lawsuits have been filed so far in the wake of a California medical group's Feb. 1 report of a ransomware attack last December affecting more than 3.3 million individuals. The incident is the largest health data breach reported to federal regulators so far this year.

Pennsylvania Health System CEO Confirms BlackCat Attack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 21, 2023

Lehigh Valley Health Network, which operates 13 hospitals and numerous physician practices and clinics in eastern Pennsylvania, says it has been hit with an attack by Russian-based ransomware-as-a-service group BlackCat. The network says it didn't pay a ransom and operations were not disrupted.

2 Health Data Hacks Affect More Than 1 Million Individuals

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 21, 2023

Two recent separate hacking incidents involving attackers stealing copies of sensitive protected health information have affected more than 1 million patients of a New Jersey healthcare system and an Alabama cardiovascular clinic. Victims get free credit monitoring and identity restoration services.

HHS Will Seek HIPAA Changes for Reproductive Health Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 20, 2023

Federal regulators are working on proposed rule to modify HIPAA to better safeguard the privacy of reproductive health data. The Biden administration last year already issued guidance about the application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to information about reproductive health.

2 State AGs Slap DNA Testing Lab With HIPAA Fines for Hack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 17, 2023

The attorneys general of Pennsylvania and Ohio have slapped a DNA testing lab with HIPAA settlements totaling $400,000 in the wake of a 2021 hack of a legacy database that affected 2.1 million individuals nationwide, including nearly 46,000 consumers in the two states.

2022 Cyberattack Has Cost CommonSpirit $150 Million So Far

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 16, 2023

A ransomware incident last fall that disrupted some of hospital chain CommonSpirit's operations for at least a month has cost the organization $150 million in lost revenue, remediation and other expenses so far. CommonSpirit also likely faces additional legal expenses.

Feds Urge Health Sector Entities to Guard Against DDoS

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 15, 2023

Federal authorities are urging healthcare sector entities to take steps to protect their web applications, connected devices and other critical systems against distributed denial-of-service attacks. The warning comes weeks after a wave of DDoS attacks from Russian nuisance hacking group KillNet.

CHS: 1 Million Patients Affected by GoAnywhere MFT Hack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  February 14, 2023

Community Health Systems has reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that a security incident involving vendor Fortra's GoAnywhere secure file transfer software has compromised the data of about 1 million patients. Did attackers exploit a recent zero-day vulnerability?