Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Why Do Phishing Attacks Continue to Plague Healthcare?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 17, 2019

Several health data breaches involving phishing attacks - including one that potentially exposed data on more than 100,000 individuals - have been added to the federal health data breach tally this month. Why do these breaches keep happening, and what more can be done to prevent them?

Avoiding Critical Security Risk Analysis Mistakes

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 16, 2019

Privacy attorney Adam Greene provides tips for avoiding mistakes when conducting a HIPAA security risk analysis and spells out the essential steps to take.

Staff Disciplined in Wake of SingHealth Breach

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 14, 2019

The organization that manages IT for Singapore's public healthcare sector says it has terminated, demoted or financially penalized several employees for their roles in the handling of a 2017 cyberattack on SingHealth, the nation's largest healthcare group. What do U.S. security experts think of these measures?

Boston Children's Hospital Hacker Gets Long Prison Sentence

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 11, 2019

A hacktivist who launched distributed denial-of-service attacks on Boston Children's Hospital and another local facility in 2014 has received a lengthy prison sentence and must pay restitution. But will the outcome of the case deter other hackers?

Lessons From Report on Massive Singapore Healthcare Hack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 10, 2019

A variety of security weaknesses contributed to a massive 2017 health data security breach in Singapore, according to a new report. What can healthcare organizations around the world learn from the report's security recommendations?

Is GDPR Compliance Tougher Than HIPAA Compliance?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 9, 2019

An EU General Data Protection Regulation enforcement action against a hospital in Portugal demonstrates complying with GDPR may be even tougher than complying with HIPAA. Regulatory experts analyze the implications of the case.

Ransomware Attacks: The Data Integrity Issues

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 7, 2019

Data integrity issues can arise in the wake of a ransomware attack. Case in point: A California podiatrist practice hit by ransomware reports that patient files were possibly "altered" or "corrupted." Security specialists weigh in on what might have happened and offer prevention and detection insights.

Blockchain's Biggest Potential in Healthcare

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 4, 2019

Where is the greatest potential for the implementation of blockchain in healthcare? Attorney Steven Teppler discusses the possibilities for the distributed ledger technology as well as its security pros and cons.

2018 Health Data Breach Tally: An Analysis

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 3, 2019

Major health data breaches added to the official federal tally in 2018 impacted more than twice as many individuals as the incidents added to the list 2017. But the 2018 victim total was far less than in 2016 and 2015, when the healthcare sector was hit with a string of huge cyberattacks.

HHS Publishes Guide to Cybersecurity Best Practices

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 2, 2019

With the aim of helping healthcare entities of all sizes improve their cybersecurity, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a four-volume publication of voluntary best practices. Experts weigh in on whether it will prove helpful, especially for smaller organizations.

What's Next for HIPAA?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 31, 2018

What impact would potential changes to HIPAA have on the healthcare sector? And what's the likelihood that HIPAA, indeed, will be modified - especially provisions that touch on privacy and security? Privacy attorney Kirk Nahra sizes up what's ahead.

Critical Steps for Avoiding 'Top Health IT Hazard' in 2019

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 27, 2018

Healthcare entities need to take a number of important steps to defend against cyberattacks involving remote access, say Chad Waters and Juuso Leinonen, security engineers at the ECRI Institute, which recently singled out hackers remotely accessing medical devices and systems as the No. 1 technology hazard.

Why Cybersecurity Remains a Top C-Suite Concern

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 26, 2018

Healthcare C-suite executives shouldn't have to worry about cybersecurity, contends John Houston, CISO at Pittsburgh-based integrated health delivery network UPMC. But for the second year in a row, cybersecurity was named the top priority for senior executives in a survey of 40 U.S. health systems.

Promising Security Technologies in the Year Ahead

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 24, 2018

Hardware authentication and user behavior analytics are among top promising security technologies that Michael Prakhye, CISO at Adventist HealthCare, will closely examine in the year ahead.

Web Portals: More Breaches Illustrate the Vulnerabilities

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 21, 2018

Web portals designed to provide convenient service to consumers can pose substantial security risks, as numerous breaches in recent years have clearly illustrated. What steps can be taken to reduce those risks?