Which Univeristy Health System is Sued over a Data Breach? Hello class action.

UCLA finds itself facing a class action lawsuit over a data breach at hospitals in the UCLA hospital system.

So how does a state university system get sued?

  • UCLA is accused of  not encrypting patient data invcuding:
    • names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health plan identification numbers, and medical information including patient procedures and diagnoses
  • UCLA allegedly did not notify patientsin a timely manner
  • UCLA’s lack of action allegedly violated multiple consumer and privacy protection laws

LATimes

 

 

Policies Two Ways: ME Cities Adopt Data Security Policies & Buy Data Security Insurance Policies.

Maine Municipal Association has added cyber-liability coverage to its insurance plan for municipalities.

Mount Desert Maine developed a data breach response policy in consultation with the Town Manager, the Police Chief, and a consultant. The data security policy:

  • Defines a data breach as “any occurrence where personal identifying information (such as Social Security numbers or payroll information) is accessed by someone other than an authorized user for anything other than an authorized purpose.”
  • If a breach is suspected, a response team consisting of the police chief, town clerk and contracted information technology (IT) coordinator will immediately investigate.
  • The source of a breach shall be completely disconnected from the town network” and shall be “left powered on and idle until an investigation is completed,” 
  • Notification will be provided to everyone whose personal information might have been compromised 

GM Cars Secure After Onstar Bug Fixed. Tesla Also Secure After Breach Identified.

Onstar–the savior for people who lock their keys in the car.  Onstar–the way for hackers to take over your car.

Until this week, hackers were able to take control of opening cars, turning on the ignition, and locating the vehicle. The hack took $100 of equipment but was an otherwise easy path to taking over Onstar.

Findlaw

Researchers testing the Tesla system also identified a potential vulnerability and sent out a wireless update to Tesla systems.

TechCrunch

Techies Tell Us- DropBox and the like are Open Doors for Hackers

Computer Weekly’s Security Editor has a more succinct explanation replete with tech jargon: 

 “common file synchronisation services such as GoogleDrive and Dropbox for command and control, data exfiltration and remote access, security firm Imperva has revealed.”

At the 2015 Blackhat Security conference, businesses were urged to  begin utilizing “perimeter security to data monitoring and data security.” For more advice, including their recommended security protocols for cloud computing, see Computer Weekly. 

Hacking Medical Devices. Federal Regulators Issue Warning.

Medical devices are interconnected. It creates better health care delivery and creates access points for hackers.

Federal regulators issued a warning that a pump used to deliver medicine to patients, the Symbiq Infusion System from medical device-maker Hospira, can be hacked by if access is gained to a hospital’s computer network.

Not the first time medical devices and hacking have ended up in the same sentence:

  •  In 2011 it was shown that insulin pumps can be hacked. 
  • In May , a security firm warned that hospital xray scanners can be used by hackers to gain access to patient information.

Washington Post

Experian's Top 6 Data Security Trends- Credit Cards, Clouds, Health Care…

  1. Credit card breaches will rise over the next few months as hackers try to beat the October deadline set by Visa and MasterCard for merchants to accept only the new generation of credit cards that are embedded with computer chips.
  2. Hackers increasingly will target data stored in the cloud. “Hackers are eager to capitalize on the value of consumer online credentials,” according to the report.
  3. Expect more breaches of health care data. One reason: the growing number of access points to protected health info. Another: the growing popularity of wearable technology, which can transmit data to doctors but provide an entry point to hackers.
  4. In light of all the recent high-profile hacks of major companies, legal and regulatory pressure will increase on CEOs and boards. “It is clear that security can no longer be viewed as just an IT issue,” the report said.
  5. Despite all the headlines involving breaches by hackers and foreign countries, disgruntled or negligent employees will be companies’ biggest security threats.
  6. The Internet of Things will become a buzzword in insurance circles. The term refers to the growing cloud-based connectivity of people and their devices, which may provide an easy entry point to all your devices and data.

Crain’s Detroit Business