Only one week after Anthem accepted to pay $115 million to victims of its massive February 2015 data breach that impacted the 78.8 million people, the company confronts another data breach discovered by a contractor, this time affecting over 18,500 of Anthem Medicare members.
LaunchPoint Ventures, which gives insurance coordination services to Anthem, learned in the month of April that a worker likely was engaged in identity theft activities. The contractor then employed a forensic firm to assess suspicious incidents.
In the month of late May, LaunchPoint learned that the employee might have accessed data of other LaunchPoint customers, in addition to that of Anthem. The inquiry further determined that the worker emailed a file with information on Anthem members to his personal address in the month of July 2016; the inquiry couldn’t determine if the employee had a legitimate work-related reason for doing so.
LaunchPoint says the worker has since been terminated and is now being held by law enforcement on charges that are unrelated to the Anthem breach.
In June, LaunchPoint was capable to confirm that the Anthem data emailed by the worker contained protected health information of Anthem Medicare members. There is not yet evidence the data was misused. Compromised member information includes Medicare ID numbers including Social Security numbers, health plan ID numbers, Medicare contract numbers, dates of enrollment, and a restricted number of last names and dates of birth.
LaunchPoint is now reinforcing policies and protocols, and evaluating additional safeguards. The company is providing affected individuals 2 years of free credit monitoring and identity theft services with AllClear ID.
Anthem refused to comment on the incident, and executives didn’t say whether it will continue to use LaunchPoint’s services.
Showing posts with label Healthcare Scams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare Scams. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Ransomware attacks Cleveland Medical, affects info of 22,000 sufferers
Cleveland Medical Associates is providing about 22,000 sufferers identity protection services after a ransomware attack against the practice.
The five-clinician practice is giving a year of protective services through Equifax to both current and former sufferers whose information may have been affected.
Cleveland Medical Associates refused to give more details about the tragedy and also did not provide any extra statements about the attack.
The breach was discovered the morning of April 17. In response, the practice executed a new medical records system and engaged forensic specialists to verify the extent to which information was affected. The practice believes the motive for the attack was extortion and that access to patient health information wasn’t an end result of the attack.
“Based upon our inquiry, there is no evidence that your protected health information was taken from our system or misused as result of the incident,” the practice told patients in a notification letter. “Because we were not able to determine with reasonable certainty whether or not there was an unauthorized access of your information, however, we’re offering you with notification of this incident.”
Protected health information that could have been compromised involves patient names, addresses, demographics, telephone numbers, email addresses, clinical information, insurance billings and Social Security numbers.
The Equifax protection package offers credit monitoring, as much as $25,000 in identity theft insurance and automatic fraud alerts of changes to a credit report.
The five-clinician practice is giving a year of protective services through Equifax to both current and former sufferers whose information may have been affected.
Cleveland Medical Associates refused to give more details about the tragedy and also did not provide any extra statements about the attack.
The breach was discovered the morning of April 17. In response, the practice executed a new medical records system and engaged forensic specialists to verify the extent to which information was affected. The practice believes the motive for the attack was extortion and that access to patient health information wasn’t an end result of the attack.
“Based upon our inquiry, there is no evidence that your protected health information was taken from our system or misused as result of the incident,” the practice told patients in a notification letter. “Because we were not able to determine with reasonable certainty whether or not there was an unauthorized access of your information, however, we’re offering you with notification of this incident.”
Protected health information that could have been compromised involves patient names, addresses, demographics, telephone numbers, email addresses, clinical information, insurance billings and Social Security numbers.
The Equifax protection package offers credit monitoring, as much as $25,000 in identity theft insurance and automatic fraud alerts of changes to a credit report.
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Ransomware Strucks Princeton Community Hospital in West Virginia
Princeton Community Hospital in West Virginia is attempting to resolve a ransomware attack through a total rebuild of its computer network.
The reconstruction of its networks is a precaution to stop potential reinfection, and includes replacing almost 1,200 hard drives, Rose Morgan, vice president of patient care services, told MetroNews, the local newspaper.
A message on computers at the facility when they were turned on the morning of June 27 read: “If you see this text, then your files are no longer accessible because they have been encrypted,” MetroNews reported.
The rebuild started after IT staff evaluated that a ransom couldn’t be paid for reasons that were not specified, in accordance with the Wall Street Journal. The degree to which a ransom payment was considered is unclear, and the Princeton Community hospital is declining further comment.
Executives say they believe that backup records will restore patient files. There is no indication that data has been removed from the facility.
Workers were capable to get some patient data from four computers, like allergies, medications and medical history, but the hospital’s electronic health records (EHRs) system currently isn’t accessible, and the hospital has reverted to paper documentation. Complete restoration could take a week.
Workers in several departments can’t use their computers so they are ferrying physician orders and other information among hospital departments as the pneumatic tube system is not working, Morgan told the Wall Street Journal.
The reconstruction of its networks is a precaution to stop potential reinfection, and includes replacing almost 1,200 hard drives, Rose Morgan, vice president of patient care services, told MetroNews, the local newspaper.
A message on computers at the facility when they were turned on the morning of June 27 read: “If you see this text, then your files are no longer accessible because they have been encrypted,” MetroNews reported.
The rebuild started after IT staff evaluated that a ransom couldn’t be paid for reasons that were not specified, in accordance with the Wall Street Journal. The degree to which a ransom payment was considered is unclear, and the Princeton Community hospital is declining further comment.
Executives say they believe that backup records will restore patient files. There is no indication that data has been removed from the facility.
Workers were capable to get some patient data from four computers, like allergies, medications and medical history, but the hospital’s electronic health records (EHRs) system currently isn’t accessible, and the hospital has reverted to paper documentation. Complete restoration could take a week.
Workers in several departments can’t use their computers so they are ferrying physician orders and other information among hospital departments as the pneumatic tube system is not working, Morgan told the Wall Street Journal.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Medicaid data not still available for system and oversight
A system developed to make better the completeness, precision and timeliness of Medicaid data is not yet getting the job done, in accordance with a new audit by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.
Information from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) was supposed to assist ensures the effective administration and oversight of the Medicaid data program, involving enhancing the ability to recognize potential fraud while improving program efficiency.
Although, while the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) had planned to implement T-MSIS with states on a rolling basis, with the aim of having all states submitting data monthly by July 2014, the OIG notes in its report that early implementation challenges have resulted in delays with T-MSIS.
“These delays were caused by technological issues during data testing and by competing priorities for states' IT resources,” according to the OIG’s audit. “As a result, the goal for when T-MSIS will contain data from all state Medicaid programs has been repeatedly postponed.”
Previous year, the federal government and states spent $574 billion on Medicaid, benefitting more than 74 million enrollees. But, without T-MSIS data, the ability to recognize trends or patterns demonstrating potential fraud, waste, and abuse in the program—as well as stop or mitigate the impact of these activities—is primarily diminished.
However, CMS expects that all states will be reporting to T-MSIS by the end of 2017, auditors reveal that just 21 of 53 state programs were submitting data to T-MSIS as of December 2016, and that it is unclear whether an end-of-the-year target date can be met.
“As states and CMS sustain to work together to submit Medicaid data into T-MSIS, they continue to raise concerns about the completeness and reliability of the data,” the report warns. “Particularly, states indicate that they are unable to report Medicaid data for all the T-MSIS data elements. Furthermore, even with a revised data dictionary that gives definitions for each data element, states and CMS report concerns about states’ varying interpretations of data elements. If states don’t have uniform interpretations of data elements, the data they submit for these elements won’t be consistent across states, making any analysis of national trends or patterns inherently unreliable.”
“Successfully getting all states’ data into T-MSIS needs states and CMS to prioritize T-MSIS implementation,” summarizes the report. “Because of CMS’s history of delaying target dates for execution, OIG is concerned that CMS and states will delay further instead to assign the resources required to deal the outstanding challenges.”
Auditors continue to suggest that CMS develop a deadline for when T-MSIS data will be available for program analysis and other management functions, contending that “without a fixed deadline, some states and CMS may not make the full implementation of T-MSIS a management priority.”
CMS officials weren’t immediately available for comment. However, in its written response to the OIG, the agency reported that since December 2016 more states—40 altogether—have successfully started submitting data to T-MSIS.
Nevertheless, while progress has been made on the number of states submitting data to T-MSIS, CMS concurred with OIG on the requirement for reliable data. In its written comments, the agency highlighted its ongoing work to improve data quality.
Specifically, CMS demonstrated that it has 2 major goals for T-MSIS data quality: transparency for users, and a continuous, ongoing improvement process with states to strengthen the Medicaid data quality. To realize these aims, the agency said it is undertaking a variety of actions, involving information for users on data quality, one-on-one technical assistance to states to ensure their data will be usable, as well as a post-production data quality review with a subset of states to establish an effective working process for improving data quality.
Additionally, CMS informed the OIG that it convened a Technical Evaluation Panel to gain initial feedback on data quality and usability. In accordance with the agency, the panel assessed a subset of T-MSIS data to identify anomalies in the data and potential challenges with using the data for analysis. CMS intends to use the panel’s findings to inform efforts to improve the states’ data quality.
Information from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) was supposed to assist ensures the effective administration and oversight of the Medicaid data program, involving enhancing the ability to recognize potential fraud while improving program efficiency.
Although, while the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) had planned to implement T-MSIS with states on a rolling basis, with the aim of having all states submitting data monthly by July 2014, the OIG notes in its report that early implementation challenges have resulted in delays with T-MSIS.
“These delays were caused by technological issues during data testing and by competing priorities for states' IT resources,” according to the OIG’s audit. “As a result, the goal for when T-MSIS will contain data from all state Medicaid programs has been repeatedly postponed.”
Previous year, the federal government and states spent $574 billion on Medicaid, benefitting more than 74 million enrollees. But, without T-MSIS data, the ability to recognize trends or patterns demonstrating potential fraud, waste, and abuse in the program—as well as stop or mitigate the impact of these activities—is primarily diminished.
However, CMS expects that all states will be reporting to T-MSIS by the end of 2017, auditors reveal that just 21 of 53 state programs were submitting data to T-MSIS as of December 2016, and that it is unclear whether an end-of-the-year target date can be met.
“As states and CMS sustain to work together to submit Medicaid data into T-MSIS, they continue to raise concerns about the completeness and reliability of the data,” the report warns. “Particularly, states indicate that they are unable to report Medicaid data for all the T-MSIS data elements. Furthermore, even with a revised data dictionary that gives definitions for each data element, states and CMS report concerns about states’ varying interpretations of data elements. If states don’t have uniform interpretations of data elements, the data they submit for these elements won’t be consistent across states, making any analysis of national trends or patterns inherently unreliable.”
“Successfully getting all states’ data into T-MSIS needs states and CMS to prioritize T-MSIS implementation,” summarizes the report. “Because of CMS’s history of delaying target dates for execution, OIG is concerned that CMS and states will delay further instead to assign the resources required to deal the outstanding challenges.”
Auditors continue to suggest that CMS develop a deadline for when T-MSIS data will be available for program analysis and other management functions, contending that “without a fixed deadline, some states and CMS may not make the full implementation of T-MSIS a management priority.”
CMS officials weren’t immediately available for comment. However, in its written response to the OIG, the agency reported that since December 2016 more states—40 altogether—have successfully started submitting data to T-MSIS.
Nevertheless, while progress has been made on the number of states submitting data to T-MSIS, CMS concurred with OIG on the requirement for reliable data. In its written comments, the agency highlighted its ongoing work to improve data quality.
Specifically, CMS demonstrated that it has 2 major goals for T-MSIS data quality: transparency for users, and a continuous, ongoing improvement process with states to strengthen the Medicaid data quality. To realize these aims, the agency said it is undertaking a variety of actions, involving information for users on data quality, one-on-one technical assistance to states to ensure their data will be usable, as well as a post-production data quality review with a subset of states to establish an effective working process for improving data quality.
Additionally, CMS informed the OIG that it convened a Technical Evaluation Panel to gain initial feedback on data quality and usability. In accordance with the agency, the panel assessed a subset of T-MSIS data to identify anomalies in the data and potential challenges with using the data for analysis. CMS intends to use the panel’s findings to inform efforts to improve the states’ data quality.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Latest cyberattack strucks significant organizations worldwide
A latest cyberattack similar to WannaCry is spreading from the region of Europe to the U.S., hitting port operators in the New York and Rotterdam, disrupting government systems in Kiev, and disabling operations at companies involving Rosneft PJSC and advertiser WPP Plc.
More than eighty companies in the Russia and Ukraine were previously affected by the Petya virus that disabled computers Tuesday and told users to pay $300 in cryptocurrency to unlock them, in accordance with the Moscow-based cybersecurity company Group-IB. Telecommunications operators and retailers were also impacted and the virus is spreading in a similar way to the WannaCry attack in May, it said.
Rob Wainwright, executive director at Europol, said the agency is "urgently responding" to reports of the latest cyberattack. In a separate statement, Europol said it’s in talks with "member states and key industry partners to develop the complete nature of this attack at this time."
Kremlin-controlled Rosneft, Russia’s greatest crude producer, claimed in a statement that it avoided “serious consequences” from the “hacker attack” by switching to “a backup system for managing production processes.”
U.K. media company WPP Plc.’s website is down, and workers have been told to turn off their computers and not use WiFi, in accordance with a person familiar with the matter. Sea Containers, the London building that houses WPP and agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, has been shut down, another person said. “IT systems in various WPP companies have been affected,” the company claimed in emailed statement.
The hack has rapidly spread from Russia and the Ukraine, through Europe and into the U.S. A.P. Moller-Maersk, operator of the world’s largest container line, said its customers cannot use online booking tools and its internal systems are down. The attack is affecting several sites and units, which involve a major port operator and an oil and gas producer, spokeswoman Concepcion Boo Arias said by phone.
APM Terminals, owned by Maersk, are experiencing system problems at multiple terminals, involving the Port of New York and New Jersey, the greatest port on the U.S. East Coast, and Rotterdam in The Netherlands, Europe’s largest harbor.
Cie de Saint-Gobain, a French manufacturer, said its systems had also been infected, though a spokeswoman refused to elaborate, while Mondelez International Inc. claimed was also experiencing a global IT outage and was searching into the cause. Merck & Co. Inc., based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, has also reported that its computer network was compromised due to the hack.
The strikes follow the global ransomware assault including the WannaCry virus that affected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries as extortionists claimed $300 in bitcoin from victims. Ransomware attacks have been soaring and the number of such tragedies increased by 50 percent in the year of 2016, according to Verizon Communications Inc.
Analysts at Symantec Corp., have said the new virus, called Petya, uses an exploit called EternalBlue to spread, much like WannaCry. EternalBlue works on vulnerabilities in Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system.
The latest virus has a fake Microsoft digital signature appended to it and the attack is spreading to several countries, Costin Raiu, director of the global research and analysis team at Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, said on Twitter.
The latest cyberattack has hit Ukraine particularly hard. The intrusion is “the greatest in Ukraine’s history,” Anton Gerashchenko, an aide to the Interior Ministry, wrote on Facebook. The goal was “the destabilization of the economic situation and in the civic consciousness of Ukraine,” though it was “disguised as an extortion attempt,” he claimed.
Kyivenergo, a Ukrainian utility, switched off all computers after the hack, while another power company, Ukrenergo, was also impacted, though “not seriously,” the Interfax news service reported.
Ukrainian delivery network Nova Poshta halted service to clients after its network was infected, the company claimed on Facebook. Ukraine’s Central Bank warned on its website that various banks had been targeted by hackers.
More than eighty companies in the Russia and Ukraine were previously affected by the Petya virus that disabled computers Tuesday and told users to pay $300 in cryptocurrency to unlock them, in accordance with the Moscow-based cybersecurity company Group-IB. Telecommunications operators and retailers were also impacted and the virus is spreading in a similar way to the WannaCry attack in May, it said.
Rob Wainwright, executive director at Europol, said the agency is "urgently responding" to reports of the latest cyberattack. In a separate statement, Europol said it’s in talks with "member states and key industry partners to develop the complete nature of this attack at this time."
Kremlin-controlled Rosneft, Russia’s greatest crude producer, claimed in a statement that it avoided “serious consequences” from the “hacker attack” by switching to “a backup system for managing production processes.”
U.K. media company WPP Plc.’s website is down, and workers have been told to turn off their computers and not use WiFi, in accordance with a person familiar with the matter. Sea Containers, the London building that houses WPP and agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, has been shut down, another person said. “IT systems in various WPP companies have been affected,” the company claimed in emailed statement.
Global Latest Cyberattack
The hack has rapidly spread from Russia and the Ukraine, through Europe and into the U.S. A.P. Moller-Maersk, operator of the world’s largest container line, said its customers cannot use online booking tools and its internal systems are down. The attack is affecting several sites and units, which involve a major port operator and an oil and gas producer, spokeswoman Concepcion Boo Arias said by phone.
APM Terminals, owned by Maersk, are experiencing system problems at multiple terminals, involving the Port of New York and New Jersey, the greatest port on the U.S. East Coast, and Rotterdam in The Netherlands, Europe’s largest harbor.
Cie de Saint-Gobain, a French manufacturer, said its systems had also been infected, though a spokeswoman refused to elaborate, while Mondelez International Inc. claimed was also experiencing a global IT outage and was searching into the cause. Merck & Co. Inc., based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, has also reported that its computer network was compromised due to the hack.
WannaCry Warnings
The strikes follow the global ransomware assault including the WannaCry virus that affected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries as extortionists claimed $300 in bitcoin from victims. Ransomware attacks have been soaring and the number of such tragedies increased by 50 percent in the year of 2016, according to Verizon Communications Inc.
Analysts at Symantec Corp., have said the new virus, called Petya, uses an exploit called EternalBlue to spread, much like WannaCry. EternalBlue works on vulnerabilities in Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system.
The latest virus has a fake Microsoft digital signature appended to it and the attack is spreading to several countries, Costin Raiu, director of the global research and analysis team at Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, said on Twitter.
The latest cyberattack has hit Ukraine particularly hard. The intrusion is “the greatest in Ukraine’s history,” Anton Gerashchenko, an aide to the Interior Ministry, wrote on Facebook. The goal was “the destabilization of the economic situation and in the civic consciousness of Ukraine,” though it was “disguised as an extortion attempt,” he claimed.
Kyivenergo, a Ukrainian utility, switched off all computers after the hack, while another power company, Ukrenergo, was also impacted, though “not seriously,” the Interfax news service reported.
Ukrainian delivery network Nova Poshta halted service to clients after its network was infected, the company claimed on Facebook. Ukraine’s Central Bank warned on its website that various banks had been targeted by hackers.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Washington State University experiences a major breach of PHI
The health and wellness services division of Washington State University in Seattle has faced a huge breach of protected health information, but the extent of the tragedy isn’t yet clear.
Local media, involving KUOW a National Public Radio station, have reported the breach affects 1 million people, but the HHS Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the HIPAA privacy and security rules, hasn’t publicly confirmed that number.
On the day of April 21, the Washington State University discovered that a hard drive was stolen from a locked safe. The hard drive held back-up files from a server utilized by the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, which involved a health survey that collected PHI.
Breached data from the health and wellness services division covered data of sufferers of medical and dental clinics, vision clinics, behavioral health organizations and local pharmacies.
Compromised data included Social Security numbers, names and undisclosed personal health information. Entities giving the information included school districts and community colleges, along with other undisclosed customers.
Washington State University is providing affected individuals one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Notification letters were mailed on the day of June 9, and the university is inquiring individuals who believe they may have been affected and have not got a letter by June 30 to call a dedicated hot line.
“As president of Washington State University, I deeply regret that this tragedy occurred and am truly sorry for any concern it might cause our community,” Kirk H. Schulz claimed in the notification letters. He pledged to strengthen IT operations through a comprehensive assessment of IT practices and policies, as well as improving security awareness training of employees.
The university refused to give additional information on the incident.
Local media, involving KUOW a National Public Radio station, have reported the breach affects 1 million people, but the HHS Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the HIPAA privacy and security rules, hasn’t publicly confirmed that number.
On the day of April 21, the Washington State University discovered that a hard drive was stolen from a locked safe. The hard drive held back-up files from a server utilized by the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, which involved a health survey that collected PHI.
Breached data from the health and wellness services division covered data of sufferers of medical and dental clinics, vision clinics, behavioral health organizations and local pharmacies.
Compromised data included Social Security numbers, names and undisclosed personal health information. Entities giving the information included school districts and community colleges, along with other undisclosed customers.
Washington State University is providing affected individuals one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Notification letters were mailed on the day of June 9, and the university is inquiring individuals who believe they may have been affected and have not got a letter by June 30 to call a dedicated hot line.
“As president of Washington State University, I deeply regret that this tragedy occurred and am truly sorry for any concern it might cause our community,” Kirk H. Schulz claimed in the notification letters. He pledged to strengthen IT operations through a comprehensive assessment of IT practices and policies, as well as improving security awareness training of employees.
The university refused to give additional information on the incident.
Friday, June 16, 2017
WannaCry Ransomware Attack infected more systems internationally than previously reported
The number of computer systems compromised by the international WannaCry ransomware attack previous month was grossly underestimated, a cybersecurity expert told members of Congress on the day of Thursday.
The malware, which hit computer systems worldwide, involving those of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom (UK), is now considered to have infected 5 to ten times as several systems as previously recommended.
“Based on the velocity of the attack, assumed by sampling data we collected from our infrastructure presently blocking the attack, we consider that anywhere between 1 million to 2 million systems might have been affected in the hours prior to activating the kill switch, contrary to the immensely reported—and more conservative—estimate of 200,000 systems,” testified Salim Neino, CEO of vendor Kryptos Logic, at a joint hearing of the House Oversight and Research and Technology subcommittees.
WannaCry Ransomware attack initiated appearing in Europe and Asia on May 12 and quickly spread to the rest of the globe. Neino credits an employee of Kryptos Logic in the U.K. with stopping the fast-propagating worm attack by registering a domain linked with the malware.
“While inquiring the code of WannaCry Ransomware Attack, we recognized what looked like an anti-detection mechanism, which tested for the existence of a certain random-looking domain name,” Neino informed lawmakers. “Our team proceeded to register the domain associated to this mechanism and instructed it to one of the ‘sinkholes’ controlled by and hosted on the Kryptos Logic network infrastructure. We then noticed and confirmed that the propagation of the WannaCry attack had come to a standstill due to what we refer to as its ‘kill switch’ having been activated by our domain registration.”
Now, more than a month after registering that domain, Kryptos Logic has reduced more than 60 million WannaCry infection attempts worldwide, with about seven million of those from the U.S. The vendor assumed that those infections could have affected 10 million to 15 million unique systems had they not been stopped Neino contended.
“The greatest attack we thwarted and measured to date from WannaCry was not on the day of May 12 or 13, when the attack started, but began suddenly on the day of June 8 and 9 on a well-funded hospital in the east coast of the United States (US),” Neino added. “Another hospital was also hit on May 30 in another part of the country.”
Neino didn’t identify either system in his remarks. His testimony matches information contained in a Department of Health and Human Services alert released in early June notifying the healthcare industry that the agency was aware of 2 large multi-state hospitals systems that were “continuing to face significant challenges to operations due to the WannaCry malware.”
Although WannaCry Ransomware attack disrupted hospitals, telecommunications companies and other agencies globally, the U.S. infection rate was lower than that experienced in several parts of the world, and no federal agencies were affected.
“While WannaCry failed to compromise federal government systems, it is nearly certain that outcome was due in part to a measure of chance,” claimed Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, during Thursday’s hearing.
“Instead of seeing this outcome as a sign of bulletproof cybersecurity defenses, we must instead increase our vigilance to better recognize constantly evolving cybersecurity threats. This is specifically true since many cyber experts predict that we will experience an attack similar to WannaCry that is more sophisticated in nature, carrying with it an even greater possibility of widespread disruption and destruction,” Smith claims.
Since the initial WannaCry Ransomware attack last month, cybercriminals have targeted Kryptos Logic in an effort to disrupt its operations, in accordance to Neino. He said the company has “been under constant attack by unidentified attackers attempting to knock our systems offline, hence disabling the kill switch and further propagating the attack.” Although, so far, they have been unsuccessful.
WannaCry has been associated to the so-called Lazarus group that is affiliated with North Korea and is responsible for, among other cyber attacks, the 2014 Sony Pictures hack and the 2016 theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank, according to Symantec CTO Hugh Thompson.
“WannaCry was distinctive and dangerous because of how quickly it spread,” testified Thompson. “It was the 1st ransomware-as-a-worm that had such a rapid global impact. Once on a system, it propagated autonomously by exploiting vulnerability in Microsoft Windows.”
Although, Gregory Touhill, former U.S. Chief Information Security Officer, described WannaCry as a “slow-pitch softball,” but warned that the next attack is likely to be a “high and tight fastball.” Touhill claimed the creators of Wannacry “overtly placed a kill-switch instruction set in the program’s code,” which a Kryptos Logic security researcher discovered and executed quickly to interrupt the attack.
“Next time, I don’t believe we’ll be so lucky,” he concluded. “We require stepping up our game and taking immediate actions across both the public and private sectors to better handle our cyber risk before the really fast pitches come flying into our networks.”
Thompson agreed that WannaCry was stopped before it could cause major damage, specifically in the U.S., which was the outcome of “good fortune” in minimizing the impact of the malware as much as anything else. “But, we’ll not always have luck on our side.”
The malware, which hit computer systems worldwide, involving those of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom (UK), is now considered to have infected 5 to ten times as several systems as previously recommended.
“Based on the velocity of the attack, assumed by sampling data we collected from our infrastructure presently blocking the attack, we consider that anywhere between 1 million to 2 million systems might have been affected in the hours prior to activating the kill switch, contrary to the immensely reported—and more conservative—estimate of 200,000 systems,” testified Salim Neino, CEO of vendor Kryptos Logic, at a joint hearing of the House Oversight and Research and Technology subcommittees.
WannaCry Ransomware attack initiated appearing in Europe and Asia on May 12 and quickly spread to the rest of the globe. Neino credits an employee of Kryptos Logic in the U.K. with stopping the fast-propagating worm attack by registering a domain linked with the malware.
“While inquiring the code of WannaCry Ransomware Attack, we recognized what looked like an anti-detection mechanism, which tested for the existence of a certain random-looking domain name,” Neino informed lawmakers. “Our team proceeded to register the domain associated to this mechanism and instructed it to one of the ‘sinkholes’ controlled by and hosted on the Kryptos Logic network infrastructure. We then noticed and confirmed that the propagation of the WannaCry attack had come to a standstill due to what we refer to as its ‘kill switch’ having been activated by our domain registration.”
Now, more than a month after registering that domain, Kryptos Logic has reduced more than 60 million WannaCry infection attempts worldwide, with about seven million of those from the U.S. The vendor assumed that those infections could have affected 10 million to 15 million unique systems had they not been stopped Neino contended.
“The greatest attack we thwarted and measured to date from WannaCry was not on the day of May 12 or 13, when the attack started, but began suddenly on the day of June 8 and 9 on a well-funded hospital in the east coast of the United States (US),” Neino added. “Another hospital was also hit on May 30 in another part of the country.”
Neino didn’t identify either system in his remarks. His testimony matches information contained in a Department of Health and Human Services alert released in early June notifying the healthcare industry that the agency was aware of 2 large multi-state hospitals systems that were “continuing to face significant challenges to operations due to the WannaCry malware.”
Although WannaCry Ransomware attack disrupted hospitals, telecommunications companies and other agencies globally, the U.S. infection rate was lower than that experienced in several parts of the world, and no federal agencies were affected.
“While WannaCry failed to compromise federal government systems, it is nearly certain that outcome was due in part to a measure of chance,” claimed Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, during Thursday’s hearing.
“Instead of seeing this outcome as a sign of bulletproof cybersecurity defenses, we must instead increase our vigilance to better recognize constantly evolving cybersecurity threats. This is specifically true since many cyber experts predict that we will experience an attack similar to WannaCry that is more sophisticated in nature, carrying with it an even greater possibility of widespread disruption and destruction,” Smith claims.
Since the initial WannaCry Ransomware attack last month, cybercriminals have targeted Kryptos Logic in an effort to disrupt its operations, in accordance to Neino. He said the company has “been under constant attack by unidentified attackers attempting to knock our systems offline, hence disabling the kill switch and further propagating the attack.” Although, so far, they have been unsuccessful.
WannaCry has been associated to the so-called Lazarus group that is affiliated with North Korea and is responsible for, among other cyber attacks, the 2014 Sony Pictures hack and the 2016 theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank, according to Symantec CTO Hugh Thompson.
“WannaCry was distinctive and dangerous because of how quickly it spread,” testified Thompson. “It was the 1st ransomware-as-a-worm that had such a rapid global impact. Once on a system, it propagated autonomously by exploiting vulnerability in Microsoft Windows.”
Although, Gregory Touhill, former U.S. Chief Information Security Officer, described WannaCry as a “slow-pitch softball,” but warned that the next attack is likely to be a “high and tight fastball.” Touhill claimed the creators of Wannacry “overtly placed a kill-switch instruction set in the program’s code,” which a Kryptos Logic security researcher discovered and executed quickly to interrupt the attack.
“Next time, I don’t believe we’ll be so lucky,” he concluded. “We require stepping up our game and taking immediate actions across both the public and private sectors to better handle our cyber risk before the really fast pitches come flying into our networks.”
Thompson agreed that WannaCry was stopped before it could cause major damage, specifically in the U.S., which was the outcome of “good fortune” in minimizing the impact of the malware as much as anything else. “But, we’ll not always have luck on our side.”
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Medicaid Claim Resolution Worksheet documents with patient information found in dumpster
The North Dakota Department of Human Services has reported the breach of patient information contained on Medicaid claim resolution worksheet documents, impacting the data of almost 2,500 individuals.
The agency reported that one of its workers was supposed to have properly disposed of the forms in secure onsite receptacles that a contractor picks up for shredding. Rather, the Medicaid claim resolution worksheet documents were found on the day of May 10 in a dumpster in Bismarck by a citizen who notified the agency, which retrieved the materials.
Now, NDDHS is notifying 2,452 affected people, offering 1 year of credit and identity theft monitoring services from CSIdentity and has taken “suitable disciplinary action against the responsible workforce member,” according to the patient notification letter.
Protected information at risk was extensive but didn’t involve the most sensitive information about recipients, like addresses, financial information and Social Security numbers.
The compromised information involved recipient names, dates of birth, Medicaid provider numbers, first two characters of providers’ names, recipient Medicaid ID numbers, two-digit code of recipients’ counties, recipients’ internal NDDHS identification numbers, dates of service, amounts billed and allowed, amounts covered by insurance, diagnosis codes, HCPCS/CPT procedure codes and details on dental work.
In the sufferer letter, the agency said it has no evidence of PHI being inadequately used or revealed and believes the risk for disclosure is low.
The North Dakota Department of Human Services is emphasizing affected individuals to review credit reports, request a free fraud alert be placed on credit files and to contact the state Attorney General Office if they become a victim of identity theft.
As is common in breach notifications, the agency apologized for the tragedy and will retain workers and review policies and procedures to ignore another similar incident.
The agency reported that one of its workers was supposed to have properly disposed of the forms in secure onsite receptacles that a contractor picks up for shredding. Rather, the Medicaid claim resolution worksheet documents were found on the day of May 10 in a dumpster in Bismarck by a citizen who notified the agency, which retrieved the materials.
Now, NDDHS is notifying 2,452 affected people, offering 1 year of credit and identity theft monitoring services from CSIdentity and has taken “suitable disciplinary action against the responsible workforce member,” according to the patient notification letter.
Protected information at risk was extensive but didn’t involve the most sensitive information about recipients, like addresses, financial information and Social Security numbers.
The compromised information involved recipient names, dates of birth, Medicaid provider numbers, first two characters of providers’ names, recipient Medicaid ID numbers, two-digit code of recipients’ counties, recipients’ internal NDDHS identification numbers, dates of service, amounts billed and allowed, amounts covered by insurance, diagnosis codes, HCPCS/CPT procedure codes and details on dental work.
In the sufferer letter, the agency said it has no evidence of PHI being inadequately used or revealed and believes the risk for disclosure is low.
The North Dakota Department of Human Services is emphasizing affected individuals to review credit reports, request a free fraud alert be placed on credit files and to contact the state Attorney General Office if they become a victim of identity theft.
As is common in breach notifications, the agency apologized for the tragedy and will retain workers and review policies and procedures to ignore another similar incident.
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Agencies more vulnerable than ever to cyber security attack
Cyber security attack vulnerability is at all-time high, and just one in five agencies can manage an attack “very well,” in accordance with new research from audit and advisory firm KPMG LLP and recruitment firm and IT outsourcing provider Harvey Nash.
Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the 4,498 global CIOs and technology leaders that the firms surveyed between the time period of December 2016 and April 2017 are adapting their technology strategies in the midst of unprecedented global political and economic uncertainty. The proportion of agencies surveyed that now have enterprise-wide digital strategies increased 52% in just 2 years, and those agencies with a chief digital officer have increased 39% over last year, in accordance to the study. Organizations are more vulnerable than ever to cyber security attack.
To assist deliver these complex digital strategies, organizations also report a huge demand for enterprise architects—the fastest increasing technology skill this year, up 26% compared with the year of 2016.
Nearly, one third of the IT leaders (32%) reported that their agencies had been the target of a major cyber security attack in the last 24 months, a 45% increase from 2013. Just one in five (21 percent) said they are “very well” prepared to respond to these attacks, down from 29% in the year of 2014.
The biggest rise in threats comes from insider attacks, increasing from 40% to 47% over last year.
“From an organizational and cultural perspective, the CIO is now confronted with a full transformation to digital, enterprise-wide,” said Bob Miano, president and CEO at Harvey Nash. This full-scale move to a digital atmosphere is increasing data vulnerability.
“Digital is without question the CIO’s priority. But specifically for legacy organizations, leading this change to a complete, unified digital strategy is top of mind,” Miano stated.
While the fastest-growing demand for a technology skill this year was enterprise architecture, big data and analytics sustained to be the most in-demand skill, at 42%, up 8% over last year.
Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the 4,498 global CIOs and technology leaders that the firms surveyed between the time period of December 2016 and April 2017 are adapting their technology strategies in the midst of unprecedented global political and economic uncertainty. The proportion of agencies surveyed that now have enterprise-wide digital strategies increased 52% in just 2 years, and those agencies with a chief digital officer have increased 39% over last year, in accordance to the study. Organizations are more vulnerable than ever to cyber security attack.
To assist deliver these complex digital strategies, organizations also report a huge demand for enterprise architects—the fastest increasing technology skill this year, up 26% compared with the year of 2016.
Nearly, one third of the IT leaders (32%) reported that their agencies had been the target of a major cyber security attack in the last 24 months, a 45% increase from 2013. Just one in five (21 percent) said they are “very well” prepared to respond to these attacks, down from 29% in the year of 2014.
The biggest rise in threats comes from insider attacks, increasing from 40% to 47% over last year.
“From an organizational and cultural perspective, the CIO is now confronted with a full transformation to digital, enterprise-wide,” said Bob Miano, president and CEO at Harvey Nash. This full-scale move to a digital atmosphere is increasing data vulnerability.
“Digital is without question the CIO’s priority. But specifically for legacy organizations, leading this change to a complete, unified digital strategy is top of mind,” Miano stated.
While the fastest-growing demand for a technology skill this year was enterprise architecture, big data and analytics sustained to be the most in-demand skill, at 42%, up 8% over last year.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Beacon Health System notifies data breach from worker snooping
A worker at Beacon Health System in South Bend, Ind., who for 3 years was accessing patient emergency department (ED) records without permission or a reason to analyze them, has been blamed for a breach of protected health information at the facility.
An audit by Beacon Health found the unwarranted access of patient information, which occurred from the time period of March 2014 to March 2017.
“While the worker might have had authorizations to view records in certain circumstances, the employee viewed patient records without a permissible reason,” the 3-hospital delivery system pointed out in a press release to local media.
“The worker refused taking or misusing any information, and we’ve no evidence that any data was used to commit fraud or otherwise misused,” the statement continued, demonstrating that the employee is no longer employed at Beacon Health System.
Compromised information involves patient names, Social Security numbers, ages, diagnoses, room numbers, acuity of sickness, chief complaints and some financial and insurance coverage information.
Beacon Heath System is reviewing training materials and putting in place new processes to decrease the likelihood of a similar tragedy occurring again. Affected individuals are being offered 1 year of identity monitoring and identity restoration services from Experian, and they are being asserted to monitor account statements and credit reports.
This is the 2nd major breach of protected health information for Beacon Health System, which operates 3 hospitals, home care services and a medical group practice. A hacking tragedy in May 2015 affected 306,789 people.
Beacon Health refused to give more information on the most recent tragedy, but sent the following statement about the incident:
“Beacon Health System’s Information Security and Privacy Team monitor worker access to records 24/7 and investigate potential issues for appropriateness on a daily basis. After an anomaly outside of Beacon’s routine monitoring was traced, upon further review, there was proof that records other than those that were required to complete this individual’s job duties were viewed. A third party forensic review validated that no data was electronically downloaded or transferred. Out of an abundance of caution, Beacon took the most conservative route to report the tragedy and notify those involved.”
An audit by Beacon Health found the unwarranted access of patient information, which occurred from the time period of March 2014 to March 2017.
“While the worker might have had authorizations to view records in certain circumstances, the employee viewed patient records without a permissible reason,” the 3-hospital delivery system pointed out in a press release to local media.
“The worker refused taking or misusing any information, and we’ve no evidence that any data was used to commit fraud or otherwise misused,” the statement continued, demonstrating that the employee is no longer employed at Beacon Health System.
Compromised information involves patient names, Social Security numbers, ages, diagnoses, room numbers, acuity of sickness, chief complaints and some financial and insurance coverage information.
Beacon Heath System is reviewing training materials and putting in place new processes to decrease the likelihood of a similar tragedy occurring again. Affected individuals are being offered 1 year of identity monitoring and identity restoration services from Experian, and they are being asserted to monitor account statements and credit reports.
This is the 2nd major breach of protected health information for Beacon Health System, which operates 3 hospitals, home care services and a medical group practice. A hacking tragedy in May 2015 affected 306,789 people.
Beacon Health refused to give more information on the most recent tragedy, but sent the following statement about the incident:
“Beacon Health System’s Information Security and Privacy Team monitor worker access to records 24/7 and investigate potential issues for appropriateness on a daily basis. After an anomaly outside of Beacon’s routine monitoring was traced, upon further review, there was proof that records other than those that were required to complete this individual’s job duties were viewed. A third party forensic review validated that no data was electronically downloaded or transferred. Out of an abundance of caution, Beacon took the most conservative route to report the tragedy and notify those involved.”
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Medical device theft at SSM Health Orthopedics affects the data of 836 patients
A medical device that records physiological information was stolen on the day of April 12 from SSM Health Orthopedics, which operates out of SSM Health-owned DePaul Hospital in St. Louis, potentially impacting the data of 836 sufferers.
The agency said the medical device, which looks similar to a laptop computer, contained in its memory certain physiological data as well as protected health information from sufferers who participated in a study between the time period of 2002 and 2017. The agency notified the sufferers that some of their protected health information has been compromised.
These sufferers had one of 2 electro diagnostic studies, called EMG or NCS, and the electromyography medical device recorded electrical activity in muscle tissue to assess health of the muscles and corresponding nerve cells. Compromised information involved first and last names, dates of birth, medical record numbers and chief complaints. No financial, address, phone or Social Security information was compromised. SSM Health privacy specialist Mackenzie Schlotz said in a letter sent to patients that the organization does not believe patients are at risk for identity theft deployed on the limited data on the device.
“It is likely that the intention of the theft was to steal the medical device, which resembles a laptop computer, and not health data,” Schlotz added. “There is no proof to recommend that the limited health information contained on the medical device has been misused in any manner.”
SSM Health Orthopedics has instituted new controls, and will conduct further training of staff and management on the managing of patient information.
The agency has 2 previous major data breaches listed on the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach web site. In the year of October 2013, the theft of a laptop at Janesville Hospital in Wisconsin affected 631 sufferers. In the year of October 2015, an unauthorized access to paper or films at SSM Health Cancer Care in Missouri affected 643 patients.
SSM Health Orthopedics refused to provide more information on the most recent incident, however it did corroborate the information it sent out to affected patients by letter.
The agency said the medical device, which looks similar to a laptop computer, contained in its memory certain physiological data as well as protected health information from sufferers who participated in a study between the time period of 2002 and 2017. The agency notified the sufferers that some of their protected health information has been compromised.
These sufferers had one of 2 electro diagnostic studies, called EMG or NCS, and the electromyography medical device recorded electrical activity in muscle tissue to assess health of the muscles and corresponding nerve cells. Compromised information involved first and last names, dates of birth, medical record numbers and chief complaints. No financial, address, phone or Social Security information was compromised. SSM Health privacy specialist Mackenzie Schlotz said in a letter sent to patients that the organization does not believe patients are at risk for identity theft deployed on the limited data on the device.
“It is likely that the intention of the theft was to steal the medical device, which resembles a laptop computer, and not health data,” Schlotz added. “There is no proof to recommend that the limited health information contained on the medical device has been misused in any manner.”
SSM Health Orthopedics has instituted new controls, and will conduct further training of staff and management on the managing of patient information.
The agency has 2 previous major data breaches listed on the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach web site. In the year of October 2013, the theft of a laptop at Janesville Hospital in Wisconsin affected 631 sufferers. In the year of October 2015, an unauthorized access to paper or films at SSM Health Cancer Care in Missouri affected 643 patients.
SSM Health Orthopedics refused to provide more information on the most recent incident, however it did corroborate the information it sent out to affected patients by letter.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Cyberattack compels British hospitals to turn away sufferers
British hospitals emphasized individuals with non-emergency conditions to stay away after a cyber attack affected huge parts of the country’s National Health Service.
16 NHS organizations of British Hospitals were hit in the U.K. on the day of Friday, while a major number of Spanish companies were also attacked using ransomware. It is not still clear if the attacks were coordinated.
Security experts in the U.S. claimed that security and health care leaders are seeking to find solutions to stop the NHS outbreak from recurring here.
“The NHS has faced a huge cyber attack, we’re working with law enforcement and our advice will follow shortly,” Action Fraud, the central cyber-crime unit of U.K. said on Twitter. The National Cyber Security Center stated: “We’re aware of cyber tragedy and we’re working with NHS Digital and the National Crime Agency to investigate.”
British Hospitals in London, North West England and Central England have been impacted, in accordance to the BBC. Mid-Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, which runs British hospitals and ambulances in a place east of London, stated on Twitter that it had “an IT problem affecting some NHS computer systems,” adding “Please don’t attend Accident And Emergency unless it is an emergency.”
The affect on services isn’t a result of the ransomware itself, but because of the NHS Trusts shutting down systems to stop it from spreading, stated Brian Lord, a former deputy director of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the U.K.’s signals intelligence agency, who is now managing director of cybersecurity firm PGI Cyber. Lord, who explained an attack of this kind as "inevitable," said the impact was exacerbated because most NHS Trusts had "a poor understanding of network configuration, meaning everything has to shut down."
A screenshot of an apparent ransom message, sent to a hospital, demonstrated a demand for $300 in bitcoin for files that had been encrypted to be decrypted.
Employees across the NHS have since been sent emails from the health service’s IT teams warning not to open or click on suspicious attachments or links.
National Cryptologic Center of Spain, which is part of the intelligence agency of country, said on its website that there had been a “massive ransomware attack” against a huge number of Spanish agencies affecting Microsoft Windows operating system. El Mundo reported that the attackers sought a ransom in bitcoin.
“We are aware of reports and are looking into the situation,” claimed a Microsoft spokesperson.
Ransomware generally gets onto a computer when an individual unsuspectingly downloads a file that looks like a normal attachment or, alternatively, clicks on a web link. A hacker then can trigger the malware to freeze the computer, prompting a person to pay a ransom or lose all their files.
Hospitals have been a usual target because the culprits know how critical digital records are for treating sufferers.
Ransomware attacks have also been soaring. The number of such attacks increased 50% in the year of 2016, in accordance to an April report from Verizon Communications. These kinds of attacks account for 72% of all the malware incidents involving the healthcare industry in the year of 2016, in accordance to Verizon.
"The large-scale cyber-attack on our NHS today is a major wake-up call," stated Jamie Graves, chief executive officer of cyber-security company ZoneFox.
Andrew Barratt, managing principal of Coalfire, a company which gives cybersecurity risk assessments to the healthcare sector, said that severak NHS hospitals used personal computers with outdated Windows-based operating systems, which have makes them convenient to attack. He said several of these systems were too old to patch and that many NHS Trusts didn’t spend enough time on technical best practices and audits, leaving them susceptible to a variety of potential cyber attacks, involving ransomware.
16 NHS organizations of British Hospitals were hit in the U.K. on the day of Friday, while a major number of Spanish companies were also attacked using ransomware. It is not still clear if the attacks were coordinated.
Security experts in the U.S. claimed that security and health care leaders are seeking to find solutions to stop the NHS outbreak from recurring here.
“The NHS has faced a huge cyber attack, we’re working with law enforcement and our advice will follow shortly,” Action Fraud, the central cyber-crime unit of U.K. said on Twitter. The National Cyber Security Center stated: “We’re aware of cyber tragedy and we’re working with NHS Digital and the National Crime Agency to investigate.”
British Hospitals in London, North West England and Central England have been impacted, in accordance to the BBC. Mid-Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, which runs British hospitals and ambulances in a place east of London, stated on Twitter that it had “an IT problem affecting some NHS computer systems,” adding “Please don’t attend Accident And Emergency unless it is an emergency.”
The affect on services isn’t a result of the ransomware itself, but because of the NHS Trusts shutting down systems to stop it from spreading, stated Brian Lord, a former deputy director of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the U.K.’s signals intelligence agency, who is now managing director of cybersecurity firm PGI Cyber. Lord, who explained an attack of this kind as "inevitable," said the impact was exacerbated because most NHS Trusts had "a poor understanding of network configuration, meaning everything has to shut down."
A screenshot of an apparent ransom message, sent to a hospital, demonstrated a demand for $300 in bitcoin for files that had been encrypted to be decrypted.
Employees across the NHS have since been sent emails from the health service’s IT teams warning not to open or click on suspicious attachments or links.
National Cryptologic Center of Spain, which is part of the intelligence agency of country, said on its website that there had been a “massive ransomware attack” against a huge number of Spanish agencies affecting Microsoft Windows operating system. El Mundo reported that the attackers sought a ransom in bitcoin.
“We are aware of reports and are looking into the situation,” claimed a Microsoft spokesperson.
Ransomware generally gets onto a computer when an individual unsuspectingly downloads a file that looks like a normal attachment or, alternatively, clicks on a web link. A hacker then can trigger the malware to freeze the computer, prompting a person to pay a ransom or lose all their files.
Hospitals have been a usual target because the culprits know how critical digital records are for treating sufferers.
Ransomware attacks have also been soaring. The number of such attacks increased 50% in the year of 2016, in accordance to an April report from Verizon Communications. These kinds of attacks account for 72% of all the malware incidents involving the healthcare industry in the year of 2016, in accordance to Verizon.
"The large-scale cyber-attack on our NHS today is a major wake-up call," stated Jamie Graves, chief executive officer of cyber-security company ZoneFox.
Andrew Barratt, managing principal of Coalfire, a company which gives cybersecurity risk assessments to the healthcare sector, said that severak NHS hospitals used personal computers with outdated Windows-based operating systems, which have makes them convenient to attack. He said several of these systems were too old to patch and that many NHS Trusts didn’t spend enough time on technical best practices and audits, leaving them susceptible to a variety of potential cyber attacks, involving ransomware.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Western Health Screening breach impacts the 15,326 sufferers
Western Health Screening, which gives onsite blood screening services at health fairs across the region of Colorado Western Slope, is providing 15,326 affected people protective services following a data breach.
Much of the at-risk patient information isn’t largely sensitive—data on the drive included names, addresses and phone numbers, but few Social Security numbers also might have been compromised, claimed the healthcare agency.
The breach happened when a car owned by Western Health Screening was stolen; a flash drive with the protected health information was in the car. The drive was password protected but not encrypted; it hasn’t been recovered.
Data on the flash drive can be accessed merely by using a unique password, and to date, there is no proof of data misuse, in accordance to Western Health Screening.
Still, the agency is offering 3 tiers of protective services from Kroll to affected people. The services being administered by Kroll involve credit monitoring, identity theft restoration and fraud consultation, a service that other healthcare agencies have rarely provided after a breach tragedy.
Western Health Screening didn’t respond to a request for data on the decision-making process they followed in making protective services to affected people.
Robert Belfort, a HIPAA attorney at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, points out that if Social Security numbers were potentially compromised, the offer of multiple protections doesn’t seem like overkill. “If SSNs weren’t involved, the offer would appear to be very generous, however in my experience, there is a broad variation in how healthcare agencies treat these matters,” he adds.
Much of the at-risk patient information isn’t largely sensitive—data on the drive included names, addresses and phone numbers, but few Social Security numbers also might have been compromised, claimed the healthcare agency.
The breach happened when a car owned by Western Health Screening was stolen; a flash drive with the protected health information was in the car. The drive was password protected but not encrypted; it hasn’t been recovered.
Data on the flash drive can be accessed merely by using a unique password, and to date, there is no proof of data misuse, in accordance to Western Health Screening.
Still, the agency is offering 3 tiers of protective services from Kroll to affected people. The services being administered by Kroll involve credit monitoring, identity theft restoration and fraud consultation, a service that other healthcare agencies have rarely provided after a breach tragedy.
Western Health Screening didn’t respond to a request for data on the decision-making process they followed in making protective services to affected people.
Robert Belfort, a HIPAA attorney at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, points out that if Social Security numbers were potentially compromised, the offer of multiple protections doesn’t seem like overkill. “If SSNs weren’t involved, the offer would appear to be very generous, however in my experience, there is a broad variation in how healthcare agencies treat these matters,” he adds.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Ransomware epidemic will sustain to devastate healthcare industry
There is a ransomware epidemic prevailing across the industry of healthcare that indicates no signs of slowing down, in accordance to GreyCastle Security CEO Reg Harnish.
He asserts that healthcare is not any more susceptible to ransomware epidemic than other industries. But Harnish analyzes that—given the value of patient data and medical records—providers are the focus of cyber criminals who are aiming them with file-encrypting malware.
“You take their information away, and it usually threatens lives, patient safety and patient care, so they are much more likely to pay a ransom,” he adds.
Business is booming at GreyCastle, which is faing triple-digit growth year over year. The Troy, N.Y.-based consultancy has merely been in operation for 6 years, but Harnish asserts that his company is considered to be one of the largest cybersecurity risk assessment, advisory, and mitigation firms in the country.
“We’ve a very deep practice in healthcare, involving incident response where we have been addressing ransomware,” claims Harnish. “It is everywhere. This issue is not going away.”
When it comes to prevention, Harnish considers that healthcare agencies must conduct regular and systematic assessments to recognize, prioritize and measure cybersecurity risk. He points out that most ransomware epidemic cases appear “because an end user on the clinical staff or administration falls victim to a social engineering attack.”
To stop these kinds of breaches, Harnish suggests healthcare agencies adopt a heightened sense of awareness that comes from training end users on emerging cyber threats and what to do about them. “An effective awareness program that assists their employees and contractors to be capable to identify a social engineering attack and then report it is job No. 1,” he contends.
He says that Locky and Sage ransomware epidemic sustain to appear on the phishing threat landscape in the year of 2017. “The reality is that our adversaries are getting better faster,” in accordance to Harnish, who says ransomware is evolving in terms of ease-of-use, features, and functionality.
“They are selling this stuff merely like Microsoft,” he adds. “They are in business to sell software or, in their case, malware. All of them today are undergoing a similar ype of evolution to (what we saw with) Microsoft Office. Cyber criminals aren’t a bunch of teenagers wearing hoodies. It is very organized and sophisticated.”
Harnish recommends that agencies have a response capability, which he analyzes as being critical for handling, coordinating and monitoring a cybersecurity tragedy from initial discovery through resolution. “They require having a response plan so if and when it happens, they can respond very rapidly,” he summarizes.
On the query of whether or not agencies should give in to the demands of cyber criminals using ransomware, Harnish claims that GreyCastle never suggests paying a ransom. “There is no guarantee that the ransom will work,” he cautions. “If you pay the ransom, you might not get decryption keys. And even if you do get decryption keys, they may not be the right ones.”
Moreover, Harnish warns that those agencies that pay a ransom then get put on a list of victims who’ve complied with ransomware demands. As an outcome, he says they are much more likely to be targeted again as a “paying” customer. “None of our customers have ever paid a ransom,” he adds.
He asserts that healthcare is not any more susceptible to ransomware epidemic than other industries. But Harnish analyzes that—given the value of patient data and medical records—providers are the focus of cyber criminals who are aiming them with file-encrypting malware.
“You take their information away, and it usually threatens lives, patient safety and patient care, so they are much more likely to pay a ransom,” he adds.
Business is booming at GreyCastle, which is faing triple-digit growth year over year. The Troy, N.Y.-based consultancy has merely been in operation for 6 years, but Harnish asserts that his company is considered to be one of the largest cybersecurity risk assessment, advisory, and mitigation firms in the country.
“We’ve a very deep practice in healthcare, involving incident response where we have been addressing ransomware,” claims Harnish. “It is everywhere. This issue is not going away.”
When it comes to prevention, Harnish considers that healthcare agencies must conduct regular and systematic assessments to recognize, prioritize and measure cybersecurity risk. He points out that most ransomware epidemic cases appear “because an end user on the clinical staff or administration falls victim to a social engineering attack.”
To stop these kinds of breaches, Harnish suggests healthcare agencies adopt a heightened sense of awareness that comes from training end users on emerging cyber threats and what to do about them. “An effective awareness program that assists their employees and contractors to be capable to identify a social engineering attack and then report it is job No. 1,” he contends.
He says that Locky and Sage ransomware epidemic sustain to appear on the phishing threat landscape in the year of 2017. “The reality is that our adversaries are getting better faster,” in accordance to Harnish, who says ransomware is evolving in terms of ease-of-use, features, and functionality.
“They are selling this stuff merely like Microsoft,” he adds. “They are in business to sell software or, in their case, malware. All of them today are undergoing a similar ype of evolution to (what we saw with) Microsoft Office. Cyber criminals aren’t a bunch of teenagers wearing hoodies. It is very organized and sophisticated.”
Harnish recommends that agencies have a response capability, which he analyzes as being critical for handling, coordinating and monitoring a cybersecurity tragedy from initial discovery through resolution. “They require having a response plan so if and when it happens, they can respond very rapidly,” he summarizes.
On the query of whether or not agencies should give in to the demands of cyber criminals using ransomware, Harnish claims that GreyCastle never suggests paying a ransom. “There is no guarantee that the ransom will work,” he cautions. “If you pay the ransom, you might not get decryption keys. And even if you do get decryption keys, they may not be the right ones.”
Moreover, Harnish warns that those agencies that pay a ransom then get put on a list of victims who’ve complied with ransomware demands. As an outcome, he says they are much more likely to be targeted again as a “paying” customer. “None of our customers have ever paid a ransom,” he adds.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Virus hits system at Erie County Medical Center
The Erie County Medical Center, a 550-bed hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., has been struck by a computer virus and in response has shut down the email, electronic health record (EHR) system and website of facility as a precautionary measure. ECMC’s Terrace View long-term care facility has also been impacted.
A virus was traced early Sunday morning at Erie County Medical Center, which is the key teaching hospital for the University at Buffalo, in accordance to Peter Cutler, vice president of communications and external affairs.
According to organizational protocols, Cutler claims that the IT team of hospital “shut our system down” and that as of Tuesday afternoon, he stated that it remained out of commission.
“The electronic health record (EHR) system isn’t running but it hasn’t been affected as far as we can tell,” he adds. Deployed on an assessment of its EHR, Cutler asserts that “at this stage we have not detected that there is been any compromise of patient health information.” At the similar time, he pointed out that all medical records are backed up and as an outcome are protected from being lost. For the time being, Cutler claims ECMC staff is using paper records.
“We are absolutely operational. It develops few challenges, of course. Individuals are working longer shifts,” he analyzes. “It has not had an effect on our ability to function.”
Cutler claims the hospital is expecting to restore systems as soon as possible; however he could not estimate how long it would take to restore all functionality. “We are in response and recovery mode. It is an around-the-clock operation right now.”
In accordance to Cutler, the FBI and New York State Police have been called in to inquire the incident. When inquired if ECMC had been hit with ransomware, he wouldn’t comment other than to say “what we know is that there was something that came into the system.”
As part of the ongoing investigation, the hospital is working with consultant GreyCastle Security in addition to federal and state law enforcement organizations to “evaluate the origin of this thing,” Cutler summarizes.
A virus was traced early Sunday morning at Erie County Medical Center, which is the key teaching hospital for the University at Buffalo, in accordance to Peter Cutler, vice president of communications and external affairs.
According to organizational protocols, Cutler claims that the IT team of hospital “shut our system down” and that as of Tuesday afternoon, he stated that it remained out of commission.
“The electronic health record (EHR) system isn’t running but it hasn’t been affected as far as we can tell,” he adds. Deployed on an assessment of its EHR, Cutler asserts that “at this stage we have not detected that there is been any compromise of patient health information.” At the similar time, he pointed out that all medical records are backed up and as an outcome are protected from being lost. For the time being, Cutler claims ECMC staff is using paper records.
“We are absolutely operational. It develops few challenges, of course. Individuals are working longer shifts,” he analyzes. “It has not had an effect on our ability to function.”
Cutler claims the hospital is expecting to restore systems as soon as possible; however he could not estimate how long it would take to restore all functionality. “We are in response and recovery mode. It is an around-the-clock operation right now.”
In accordance to Cutler, the FBI and New York State Police have been called in to inquire the incident. When inquired if ECMC had been hit with ransomware, he wouldn’t comment other than to say “what we know is that there was something that came into the system.”
As part of the ongoing investigation, the hospital is working with consultant GreyCastle Security in addition to federal and state law enforcement organizations to “evaluate the origin of this thing,” Cutler summarizes.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
HHS data indicates 1,800 huge data breaches since the year of 2009
Almost 1,800 huge data breaches including patient information have occurred since the year of 2009, in accordance to an analysis of publicly available data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Researchers analyzed HHS data for the period from the day of Oct. 21, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2016. What they discovered is that providers reported more than 1,200 of the reported huge data breaches, while business associates, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses reported the left over breaches.
Additionally, 257 huge data breaches during that time period were reported by 216 hospitals, with 33 suffering more than one breach—several of which were large, significant teaching hospitals.
Results from the retrospective data analysis were recently published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
Although, Ge Bai, lead author of the research and assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, points out that under HIPAA regulations covered entities are needed to notify HHS of any breach affecting 500 or more people within sixty days from the discovery of the breach.
“With smaller breaches, there is no requirement to report,” claims Bai. As a result, she asserts that the HHS data doesn’t rightly depict the total number of breaches, which might be significantly higher. “We do not know how many breaches really happened in terms of the smaller ones,” in accordance to Bai.
John Suit, chief technology officer at data security vendor Trivalent, claims the study indicates that data protection technology has not been capable to keep up with the digitization of healthcare.
“The result is an extreme risk for sufferers who put their trust in healthcare agencies to deal their medical concerns, but also secure their sensitive and personal information,” says Suit. “To deal this, hospitals, pharmacies, assisted living facilities, insurance providers, and research institutions must reinforce their security strategy and adopt a defense-in-depth approach with multiple layers of protection.”
Suit also notes that traditional encryption is no longer enough to thwart the increasing number of cyber threats. He emphasizes that the healthcare industry “must turn to next generation solutions to secure data at the file level with encryption, shredding and secure storage, which renders personal sufferer data useless to unauthorized parties.”
Nevertheless, Bai makes the case that a fundamental trade-off exists between data security and data access and that “100% zero breaches” with “absolutely no breaches at all” is an unrealistic expectation. “All you can do is handle the risk, not eliminate it,” she summarizes.
Researchers analyzed HHS data for the period from the day of Oct. 21, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2016. What they discovered is that providers reported more than 1,200 of the reported huge data breaches, while business associates, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses reported the left over breaches.
Additionally, 257 huge data breaches during that time period were reported by 216 hospitals, with 33 suffering more than one breach—several of which were large, significant teaching hospitals.
Results from the retrospective data analysis were recently published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
Although, Ge Bai, lead author of the research and assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, points out that under HIPAA regulations covered entities are needed to notify HHS of any breach affecting 500 or more people within sixty days from the discovery of the breach.
“With smaller breaches, there is no requirement to report,” claims Bai. As a result, she asserts that the HHS data doesn’t rightly depict the total number of breaches, which might be significantly higher. “We do not know how many breaches really happened in terms of the smaller ones,” in accordance to Bai.
John Suit, chief technology officer at data security vendor Trivalent, claims the study indicates that data protection technology has not been capable to keep up with the digitization of healthcare.
“The result is an extreme risk for sufferers who put their trust in healthcare agencies to deal their medical concerns, but also secure their sensitive and personal information,” says Suit. “To deal this, hospitals, pharmacies, assisted living facilities, insurance providers, and research institutions must reinforce their security strategy and adopt a defense-in-depth approach with multiple layers of protection.”
Suit also notes that traditional encryption is no longer enough to thwart the increasing number of cyber threats. He emphasizes that the healthcare industry “must turn to next generation solutions to secure data at the file level with encryption, shredding and secure storage, which renders personal sufferer data useless to unauthorized parties.”
Nevertheless, Bai makes the case that a fundamental trade-off exists between data security and data access and that “100% zero breaches” with “absolutely no breaches at all” is an unrealistic expectation. “All you can do is handle the risk, not eliminate it,” she summarizes.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Ransomware strikes pediatric group, impacting 55,000 sufferers’ data
A four-site pediatric group serving the San Antonio metropolitan place victoriously fought off a ransomware attack, but it yet is giving 55,447 sufferers identity and credit protection services from Equifax Personal Solutions.
Before the ransomware attack, ABCD Pediatric group already had software applications that supplied network filtering and security monitoring, intrusion detection, and firewall, antivirus and password protection.
The practice became aware of the attack on the day of February 6, when a worker discovered a virus that started encrypting servers. The encryption was slowed primarily by existing antivirus software, the firm explained to sufferers in a notification letter, and the practice’s IT vendor shifted all servers and computers offline.
A practice administrator didn’t respond to a request for extra information. Ransomware strikes pediatric group which has impacted 55,000 sufferers’ data.
Potentially compromised data involved names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, demographic information, Social Security numbers, insurance billing information, procedure codes, medical records and lab reports, its letter to sufferers noted.
The vendor identified the virus strain as “Dharma Ransomware,” a variant of an older virus called “CriSiS.” These strains generally don’t remove data from servers, but that couldn’t be ruled out, executives of the practice say. “Also, during the analysis of ABCD’s servers and computers, suspicious user accounts were discovered, recommending that hackers might have accessed portions of ABCD’s network,” the practice told sufferers.
After the virus and corrupt information were removed, the practice was capable to restore all affected data through secure backup files stored away from servers and computers. No ransom demands or other communications were got.
While the practice’s IT vendor discovered no evidence of data being acquired or removed, it couldn’t rule out the possibility, sufferers were told. “Significantly, ABCD can’t confirm with a high degree of likelihood that confidential information remained secure throughout this incident.”
Subsequently, the practice pointed out that no confidential or protected health information was lost and no ransom demands were made, but indications that programs or persons might have been on the server compelled notifying patients, the FBI and the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
In regard to the Equifax protective services, the practice suggested patients place a fraud alert on their credit files with credit reporting firms.
Before the ransomware attack, ABCD Pediatric group already had software applications that supplied network filtering and security monitoring, intrusion detection, and firewall, antivirus and password protection.
The practice became aware of the attack on the day of February 6, when a worker discovered a virus that started encrypting servers. The encryption was slowed primarily by existing antivirus software, the firm explained to sufferers in a notification letter, and the practice’s IT vendor shifted all servers and computers offline.
A practice administrator didn’t respond to a request for extra information. Ransomware strikes pediatric group which has impacted 55,000 sufferers’ data.
Potentially compromised data involved names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, demographic information, Social Security numbers, insurance billing information, procedure codes, medical records and lab reports, its letter to sufferers noted.
The vendor identified the virus strain as “Dharma Ransomware,” a variant of an older virus called “CriSiS.” These strains generally don’t remove data from servers, but that couldn’t be ruled out, executives of the practice say. “Also, during the analysis of ABCD’s servers and computers, suspicious user accounts were discovered, recommending that hackers might have accessed portions of ABCD’s network,” the practice told sufferers.
After the virus and corrupt information were removed, the practice was capable to restore all affected data through secure backup files stored away from servers and computers. No ransom demands or other communications were got.
While the practice’s IT vendor discovered no evidence of data being acquired or removed, it couldn’t rule out the possibility, sufferers were told. “Significantly, ABCD can’t confirm with a high degree of likelihood that confidential information remained secure throughout this incident.”
Subsequently, the practice pointed out that no confidential or protected health information was lost and no ransom demands were made, but indications that programs or persons might have been on the server compelled notifying patients, the FBI and the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
In regard to the Equifax protective services, the practice suggested patients place a fraud alert on their credit files with credit reporting firms.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Malicious outsider data breaches increase almost 300 percent in the year of 2016
Cyber attackers launched 1,792 malicious outsider data breaches in the year of 2016, which led to nearly 1.4 billion data records being compromised worldwide, in accordance to the newly released Breach Level Index (BLI) report from security provider Gemalto.
Identity theft was the leading kind of malicious outsider data breaches previous year, accounting for 59% of all data breaches, the report claimed. More than half of the organizations hit with data breaches (52%) in the year of 2016 didn’t reveal the number of compromised records at the time they were reported.
The BLI is an international database that tracks data breaches and measures their severity deployed on multiple factors such as the number of records compromised, type of data, and source of the breach, how the data was utilized, and whether or not the information was encrypted.
By allocating a severity score to each breach, the BLI gives a comparative list of breaches, distinguishing data breaches that aren’t serious from those that are really impactful, Gemalto said. In accordance to the BLI, more than 7 billion data records have been exposed since the year of 2013, when the index started benchmarking publicly disclosed data breaches. That amounts to more than 3 million records compromised daily.
In the year of 2016, the top ten breaches in terms of severity accounted for more than half of all compromised records. Identity theft was the cause of 59% of all data breaches, up 5% from the year of 2015. The second most prevalent kind of breach in 2016 was account access based breaches. While the tragedy of this type of data breach reduced by 3 percent, it made up 54% of all breached records. That is an increase of 336% from the last year.
This mentions the cybercriminal trend from financial data attacks to bigger databases with large volumes of personally identifiable information, the report stated.
Malicious outsider data breaches were the leading source of data breaches, accounting for 68% of the attacks, up from 13% in 2015. The number of records breached in malicious outsider attacks increased by 286% from 2015.
"The Breach Level Index reflects 4 major cybercriminal trends over the last year. Hackers are casting a wider net and are using conveniently attainable account and identity information as a starting point for high value targets. Clearly, fraudsters are also shifting from attacks targeted at financial agencies to infiltrating large data bases like entertainment and social media sites. Lastly, fraudsters have been using encryption to make breached data unreadable, then hold it for ransom and decrypting once they are paid," stated Jason Hart, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Data Protection at Gemalto.
Identity theft was the leading kind of malicious outsider data breaches previous year, accounting for 59% of all data breaches, the report claimed. More than half of the organizations hit with data breaches (52%) in the year of 2016 didn’t reveal the number of compromised records at the time they were reported.
The BLI is an international database that tracks data breaches and measures their severity deployed on multiple factors such as the number of records compromised, type of data, and source of the breach, how the data was utilized, and whether or not the information was encrypted.
By allocating a severity score to each breach, the BLI gives a comparative list of breaches, distinguishing data breaches that aren’t serious from those that are really impactful, Gemalto said. In accordance to the BLI, more than 7 billion data records have been exposed since the year of 2013, when the index started benchmarking publicly disclosed data breaches. That amounts to more than 3 million records compromised daily.
In the year of 2016, the top ten breaches in terms of severity accounted for more than half of all compromised records. Identity theft was the cause of 59% of all data breaches, up 5% from the year of 2015. The second most prevalent kind of breach in 2016 was account access based breaches. While the tragedy of this type of data breach reduced by 3 percent, it made up 54% of all breached records. That is an increase of 336% from the last year.
This mentions the cybercriminal trend from financial data attacks to bigger databases with large volumes of personally identifiable information, the report stated.
Malicious outsider data breaches were the leading source of data breaches, accounting for 68% of the attacks, up from 13% in 2015. The number of records breached in malicious outsider attacks increased by 286% from 2015.
"The Breach Level Index reflects 4 major cybercriminal trends over the last year. Hackers are casting a wider net and are using conveniently attainable account and identity information as a starting point for high value targets. Clearly, fraudsters are also shifting from attacks targeted at financial agencies to infiltrating large data bases like entertainment and social media sites. Lastly, fraudsters have been using encryption to make breached data unreadable, then hold it for ransom and decrypting once they are paid," stated Jason Hart, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Data Protection at Gemalto.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Instant action by Urology Austin Prevents ransomware attack
The hackers implemented a ransomware attack on Urology Austin, a specialty provider that operates thirteen sites serving Round Rock and Austin. While the attack was prevented and Urology Austin regained access to its systems, it couldn’t be evaluated whether patient data was accessed by the hackers. As an outcome, the agency is offering a year of credit and identity protection services to 279,663 sufferers.
The attack occurred on the day of January 22. In an informational notice issued to the media, the practice claimed that it was aware of the attack within minutes, shut down the network and started data and operational restoration.
The practice told the regional NBC television affiliate that no ransom was paid to regain information. Compromised data involved patients’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and medical information.
Notification letters have been sent to sufferers, giving them detailed information on steps to take to secure personal information.
“We take the security of our sufferers’ information very crucially and we’ve taken measures to stop a similar event from occurring in the future, involving strengthening our security measures and making sure that our networks and systems are now secure,” in accordance to a statement from the practice. “The privacy and protection of patient data is a top priority, and we strongly regret any inconvenience or concern this tragedy may cause.”
A spokesperson for Urology Austin didn’t respond to queries for further information.
The attack occurred on the day of January 22. In an informational notice issued to the media, the practice claimed that it was aware of the attack within minutes, shut down the network and started data and operational restoration.
The practice told the regional NBC television affiliate that no ransom was paid to regain information. Compromised data involved patients’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and medical information.
Notification letters have been sent to sufferers, giving them detailed information on steps to take to secure personal information.
“We take the security of our sufferers’ information very crucially and we’ve taken measures to stop a similar event from occurring in the future, involving strengthening our security measures and making sure that our networks and systems are now secure,” in accordance to a statement from the practice. “The privacy and protection of patient data is a top priority, and we strongly regret any inconvenience or concern this tragedy may cause.”
A spokesperson for Urology Austin didn’t respond to queries for further information.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
New scheme seems to use deceptive phone line to get personal information
The phone number of a hotline being utilized by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services apparently is being used by scammers to get personal information from people who consider they are talking to OIG staff. New scheme seems to use deceptive phone line to get personal information.
The OIG hotline accepts tips and complaints about potential scam and mismanagement including HHS programs, which OIG inquires.
Although, HHS now is warning clients that scammers are altering the numbers that appear on caller ID devices; when the criminals call, devices display the HHS hotline phone number (1-800-HHS-TIPS). Victims who receive the calls are at risk for offering the scammers personal information that can be used to raid a bank account or perform other fraudulent activity.
New scheme seems to use deceptive phone line to get personal information.
The OIG affirms that it doesn’t use the hotline number to make outgoing calls; the organization is advising consumers not to answer phone calls that purportedly come from HHS. The agency further is asserting that it remains safe to call the hotline to report fraud or mismanagement, and it specifically motivates those who might have been victimized by the phone call hoax to contact the agency by straightly calling the hotline.
The agency counsels consumers to not provide data over the phone to a person posing as from HHS, like Social Security numbers, dates of birth, credit card numbers, driver license numbers, bank account numbers or mother’s maiden names.
When calling HHS to report fraud, involve date and time you got the phone call and details about the call. People also can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
The OIG hotline accepts tips and complaints about potential scam and mismanagement including HHS programs, which OIG inquires.
Although, HHS now is warning clients that scammers are altering the numbers that appear on caller ID devices; when the criminals call, devices display the HHS hotline phone number (1-800-HHS-TIPS). Victims who receive the calls are at risk for offering the scammers personal information that can be used to raid a bank account or perform other fraudulent activity.
New scheme seems to use deceptive phone line to get personal information.
The OIG affirms that it doesn’t use the hotline number to make outgoing calls; the organization is advising consumers not to answer phone calls that purportedly come from HHS. The agency further is asserting that it remains safe to call the hotline to report fraud or mismanagement, and it specifically motivates those who might have been victimized by the phone call hoax to contact the agency by straightly calling the hotline.
The agency counsels consumers to not provide data over the phone to a person posing as from HHS, like Social Security numbers, dates of birth, credit card numbers, driver license numbers, bank account numbers or mother’s maiden names.
When calling HHS to report fraud, involve date and time you got the phone call and details about the call. People also can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
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