- On Friday, February 26, 2016, the IRS sais oops, there were more taxpayers affected by the data breach than we thought. Our bad.
- How much worse? Oh, just a couple extra 100,000s.
The Hill | IRS: Taxpayer breach much larger than previously reported
Author Archives: admin
New health care segment a focus of data security:
Drug Delivery Systems data is a new target and concern for data security.
Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry | The Data Revolution Comes to Drug Delivery
INTERIM. 98% of health care data breaches caused by…
…hackers. Yes, that’s right 98% of the data breaches in 2015 that occured in health care were initiated by hackers.
That’s an 80% increase over 2014.
What is the intent of the hackers that seek health care information?
- identity theft
- leverage the health care data to access medical care
- conduct corporate extortion
AJMC.com | Cyberattack on Hollywood Hospital Part of a Growing Trend
New Head of DIR beginning March 2016
Stacey Napier will lead the Department of Information Resources as the its executive director beginning mid-March 2016.
Napier replaces Todd Kimbriel, the interim executive director of DIR.
An overview of her background:
- She arrives from Governor Abbott’s office.
- She was with the Texas Attorney General’s Office for 10 +years
- She was previously the Chief of Staff to former state Sen. Florence Shapiro
Austin Business Journal | Texas names Capitol veteran as technology agency director
3 lessons from a data breach lawsuit. Specs Liquor v. Insurance.
Spec’s experienced a data breach that resulted in legal fees. Spec’s was insured and has sued its insurer over the coverage of costs incurred from the data breach.
3 Take aways from a Texas Company with data breach insurance coverage:
- Spec’s wants its insurance company to pay its legal fees for a legal fight between Spec’s and the credit card processor that experienced the data breach
- Insurance companies have become good at covering the initial expenses (notifications, initial legal fees,…
Data Security Trend: Health Data Held Hostage for Ransom. Is it a crime?
The question for Texas, does holding business data hostage constitute a crime?
Where did data get held hostage? In California
How was the data held hostage? “malicious “ransomware” application to encrypt data on the hospital’s computer system, demanding payment in exchange for a decryption key”
What type of business? Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center patient input information
What did the hackers want? $17,000 worth of bitcoin was paid to retrieve an encryption…
5 Bits Informed Intel on License Plate Reader Data and Legislative Restrictions. Procurement Doors Closing.
How much data has been gathered by license plate readers in Texas? Estimated 10 million license plate pictures, with locations, collected by month.
What can be done with this stored license plate information? It can track the location of a vehicle by plotting its sightings by day and time
What’s happening on this legislatively?
- In 2015, Texas bills preventing license plate recording & collection died
- Arkansas & Utah prohibit private companies from amassing license plate data…
Lege Trend: Curtail Release of Any and All Student Data to 3rd parties. Bonjour, education vendors.
What happened to spark stronger student data privacy protections? A court allowed for the release of student data to a group of parents who are fighting a court battle over the quality of education for disabled students.
What data do legislators want to prevent schools from releasing?
- student social security numbers
- medical histories
- mental health assessments
- student disciplinary records
What is the nobel purpose of the legislative action? Schools collect data that is neither…
Legal Trend: Lawsuits Over Smart TVs gathering & selling your data. the machines are alive. 2 Bits Informed Intel.
What data is being collected and sold by electronic devices? Smart televisions gather information about viewing habits and that data is sold to third parties .
Do owners of smart tvs know or have they consented to the data collection? According to a series of law suits, no, owners neitehr know of the data collection nor consent to it.
WFAA | Vizio’s smart TVs are snitches, lawsuit alleges
Legal Trend: Court Says Data Breach Is a Recognizable Injury for Lawsuit. The Case, a Health Care Lawsuit. 3 Bits Informed Intel.
What class action is progressing? The suit involving the Anthem Inc. health breach that affected 97 million.
What did the judge do that allowed the class action to move forward? Rejected Anthem’s argument that a data breach is not a recognizeable injury
What does this mean? Courts have split on whether a data breach, with no proof that the stolen data has been used to cause a harm, is enough of an injury to satisfy a lawsuit. The California Judge’s order says it is enough of an injury…