GDPR Advice
Articles by compliancejunction
GDPR Advice
GDPR Advice
GDPR Advice
Do small businesses need to appoint a DPO under GDPR?
The introduction of the GDPR on May 28th, 2018, was partly led by the internet age where there are profound changes in the ways that many organizations, including small businesses, manage the personal data of […]
GDPR Advice
GDPR Compliance and Cloud Computing: Quick Checklist
GDPR compliance in the cloud raises many challenges for businesses attempting to comply with the EU’s new data security and privacy rule. Not only is it necessary for businesses using services hosted in the cloud […]
GDPR Advice
GDPR Advice
GDPR News
Best Practice Example: Hilton Honors Starts GDPR B2C Repermissioning Project
Hilton Honors has started a repermissioning project for members of its loyalty program members. With the GDPR deadline less than 4 weeks away, it’s a surprisingly rare example of an international company launching a repermissioning […]
GDPR Advice
GDPR News
GDPR News
HIPAA Updates
HIPAA Breach Response Program Guides Medical Group Though OCR Audit
The Californian multi-specialty physician’s group, Imperial Valley Family Care Medical Group (IVFCMG), has recently been audited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) following a potential breach of […]
Cybersecurity
DHS Warns Healthcare Organizations of Vulnerabilities in Siemens Medical Imaging Devices
The Department of Homeland Security has issued an alert over vulnerabilities in Siemens medical imaging devices. The vulnerabilities could be exploited remotely and attacks would require only a low level of skill. Exploits are publicly […]
HIPAA Updates
Partnership Between HITRUST and Trend Micro Announced
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) is looking to improve its threat information sharing capabilities and provide more assistance to HIPAA covered entities to help them manage cyber threats more effectively. HITRUST is already providing […]
HIPAA Updates
U.S. Senate Passes Jessie’s Law Allowing Sharing of Patients’ Addiction Histories
The U.S. Senate has passed new legislation that will allow patients’ histories of drug addiction treatment to be shared with their physicians with consent. The legislation will help to ensure physicians can make more informed […]
HIPAA Updates
New Legislation Proposed to Align Part 2 Regulations With HIPAA
Regulations governing the treatment of substance use disorder records and HIPAA are currently at odds, although new legislation has been proposed to align both sets of regulations. Representatives Tim Murphy and Earl Blumenauer have introduced […]
Cybersecurity
Industry Leaders Declare Support for Medical Device Cybersecurity Act
The Medical Device Cybersecurity Act introduced by Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal last week is intended to improve the security of medical devices by making it harder for the devices to be hacked. If the legislation […]
HIPAA Updates
OCR Highlights Need for Security Awareness Training for Healthcare Employees
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has reminded HIPAA-covered entities why security awareness training for healthcare employees is so important in its July Cybersecurity Newsletter. PHI security is not only […]
HIPAA Updates
Plastic Surgery Associates of South Dakota Ransomware Attack Announced
A Plastic Surgery Associates of South Dakota ransomware attack has potentially resulted in criminals gaining access to the protected health information (PHI) of 10,200 of its patients. Last year, OCR confirmed in its ransomware guidance that […]
Cybersecurity
KPMG Survey Confirms Increase in HIPAA Data Breaches in the Past 2 Years
KPMG has published the findings of its recent Cyber Healthcare & Life Sciences Survey. The survey was conducted on 100 individuals with responsibility for information security at healthcare providers and payers with annual revenues in […]
HIPAA Updates
Pennsylvania Clinic Discovers 4-Month Breach During Ransomware Investigation
For the second time this month, a healthcare provider has announced that an investigation into a ransomware attack has revealed a historic data breach. Earlier this month, Peachtree Neurological Clinic discovered a 15-month data breach […]
Cybersecurity
HITRUST Launches Program to Improve Healthcare Risk Management and Cybersecurity
HITRUST has announced it is embarking on a new Community Extension Program to reach out to healthcare organizations to provide advice on best practices to adopt to improve cybersecurity. The new program will enable HITRUST […]
HIPAA Updates
Model HIPAA Release Form Developed by AHIMA
AHIMA, the American Healthcare Information Management Association, has announced it has developed a model HIPAA release form that can be used by HIPAA-covered entities to streamline the processing of requests for copies of patients’ health […]
HIPAA Updates
15-Month Security Breach Discovered During Ransomware Investigation
Peachtree Neurological Clinic has uncovered a 15-month security incident during the investigation of a ransomware attack. The Atlanta, GA clinic says the incident has resulted in the exposure of 176,295 patients’ protected health information. Initially, […]
HIPAA Updates
2-Year Data Breach Discovered by University of Iowa Health Care
The names, admission dates and medical record numbers of 5,292 patients of University of Iowa Health Care were accessible over the Internet for around 2 years as a result of an error configuring an application […]
Cybersecurity
Only 5% of Healthcare Organizations Use Risk Management Software
A recent survey conducted by risk management software vendor Netwrix has revealed only 5% of healthcare organizations are using software for risk management and security governance. Additionally, only 32% of healthcare organizations said they had […]
HIPAA Updates
Washington State University Reports Theft of Hard Drive Containing Data of 1 Million Individuals
One of the largest data breaches of the year to date has been reported by Washington State University. An unencrypted hard drive containing the data of more than 1 million individuals has been stolen. The […]
HIPAA Updates
$130,000 Fine for CoPilot for Delaying the Issuing of Breach Notification Letters
The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule requires covered entities to issue breach notification letters to patients within 60 days of the discovery of a data breach. Already this year, OCR has agreed its first settlement with […]
Cybersecurity
The 2016 Cost of Data Breach Study: A Summary
The Ponemon Institute has conducted an annual benchmark study on the cost of data breaches for the last decade. Their 2016 Cost of Data Breach Study was published by the Institute earlier this week. The […]
HIPAA Updates
Patient Medical Record Access Guidance Issued by ONC
Patient medical record access guidance has been issued by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits patients to obtain copies […]
HIPAA Updates
OCR Explains How Covered Entities Should Respond to a Cyberattack
The healthcare industry is under attack from hackers and malicious insiders. Systems are being compromised at a greater rate than ever before. Last year saw record numbers of HIPAA breaches reported to OCR and the […]
HIPAA Advice
What is a HIPAA Security Incident and What are the Notification Requirements?
In May, the global WannaCry ransomware attacks resulted in more than 230,000 computers being infected and encrypted. There were also a high number of other IT security incidents reported to the Department of Health and […]
HIPAA Updates
HIPAA Rules on Ransomware Confirmed by OCR
Following the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) was particularly active. OCR sent out warnings, updates, and threat information related to WannaCry ransomware. OCR also […]
Cybersecurity
HIPAA to be Updated to Cover Texting, Social Media and Transparency in Investigatory Methods
At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s 2017 conference-HIMSS17-OCR’s Deven McGraw released some new information on the HIPAA guidance OCR expects to release in 2017. Last year, the Joint Commission lifted the ban on […]
Cybersecurity
Summary of Healthcare Data Breaches in 2016
Although the total number of healthcare data breaches reported in 2016 is an order of magnitude lower than the number seen in 2015, there was a significant increase in the number of covered entities (CEs) […]
HIPAA Updates
An Overview of HIPAA Settlements in 2016
HIPAA settlements reached record highs in 2016. This is in part due to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights increasing its enforcement activities in recent years. In total, payments of […]
Cybersecurity
June 2016 Sees Massive Healthcare Data Breach
In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of cyberattacks on healthcare organizations with the aim of obtaining PHI. It has proven profitable for hackers to conduct attacks on healthcare organizations […]
HIPAA Updates
FCC Clarifies Rules Regarding HIPAA and Patient Telephone Calls
The FCC has recently clarified it the rules regarding HIPAA and patient telephone calls, but fails to properly consider automated telephone calls. There has been some confusion reported by healthcare authorities over the rules regarding […]
HIPAA Advice
Penalties of HIPAA Violations Explained
In order to safeguard the Protected Health Information (PHI) of patients, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 placed a number of requirements on HIPAA-Covered Entities (CEs) . Furthermore, the act strictly controls […]
HIPAA Advice
The Use of E-Signatures Under HIPAA Rules
The following article considers the use, benefits and disadvantages of e-signatures in the healthcare industry, and whether they are compliant with HIPAA rules. The increasing utilisation of digital signatures in the healthcare industry increased the […]
HIPAA Advice
The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule: an Overview
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in recent years in regard to the healthcare industry. In spite of its importance, many healthcare providers […]
Cybersecurity
Report Reveals Biggest Causes of PHI Exposure
Veriphyr Identity and Access Intelligence has recently published a report into what causes the greatest threat to exposure of Protected Health Information (PHI). The study found that the theft of mobile devices may result in […]