COVID-19 has ushered in the mass acceptance of telehealth, with so much optimism and excitement around the technology. But like many new technologies, the initial use is rushed and not well thought out with many providers trying to figure out the right technology, best practices, and optimal patient experience. We have seen temporary waivers to […]
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HIPAA IT Security tips
Million Dollar Laptop
By Mary Beth Carl on September 18, 2020 in HIPAA IT Security, Latest News, Tech Tips, Weekly Security Reminder
Was it made of gold? Encrusted in diamonds? No. Read on to learn how one laptop ended up being worth a massive one million dollars. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently closed an investigation into Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity for a stolen laptop incident reported back in 2017. That laptop contained…ready […]
Fraudulent Postcards
By Mary Beth Carl on September 11, 2020 in HIPAA IT Security, Latest News, Tech Tips, Weekly Security Reminder
It’s always nice to get a postcard from friends or family who are away on vacation. But this week we learned of a new kind of postcard being sent out with not-so-well wishes. The Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent out a warning that fraudulent postcards are being […]
Why We Need to Go Beyond HIPAA
HIPAA – Then & Now The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, has been around since 1996, with the intent to protect patients by properly handling their protected health information (PHI). With good intentions, HIPAA set forth to provide both security provisions and data privacy. The legislation was passed in the […]
5 ways to be proactive about keeping patient data secure
As modern medicine embraces technology, keeping patient data secure is now becoming one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. This is not an issue that can simply be left to your IT department to take care of – security needs to be a company-wide concern, and one that has strong buy-in from the top down. […]
4 security tips to keep you safe online
The internet is becoming an increasingly dangerous neighborhood: digital marketers want to buy your private data, and hackers want to steal it. Here are four simple steps you can take to stay safe online. 1. Encrypt Your Passwords These days, dealing with the ever-growing list of passwords required to log in to many websites has […]
4 ways to protect your business against risk
Small and medium-sized businesses are vulnerable to risk. This is because it’s difficult (from both an expense and resource perspective) to recover from a risk incident. External risks can come from a range of places: financial markets, technology providers, legal liabilities, accidents, natural disasters and more. Whichever risks are relevant to your industry, it’s vital […]
The future of two-factor authentication
By Mary Beth Carl on July 4, 2019 in Latest News, Security, Security Alerts, Security Management, Spotlight
After years of lectures from security experts, businesses have finally begun to accept that a password alone isn’t enough to secure a corporate computing account. Enter two-factor authentication (2FA). It strengthens security by using an additional login method, such as fingerprint scans or facial recognition. Two-factor authentication is becoming increasingly important as passwords fall victim […]
Your password is weaker than you think
Passwords are still a major security weakness. Easy-to-crack passwords can render even the most sophisticated (and expensive) security measures powerless. Yet despite this vulnerability being well known, too many of us persist with passwords that are weak, easy to guess or repeated across multiple log-ins. It’s understandable: most users struggle to remember different passwords for the […]
Is your business data compliant?
Governments around the world are tightening up laws governing how businesses gather, store, and secure user data. This is increasingly challenging as data is now a commodity not constrained by national borders. There is also a vast amount of data being produced, meaning the sheer volume involved can overwhelm businesses, especially SMBs with limited resources. […]