Help Me With HIPAA

In the recent NIST OCR security conference, a panel member said the terms "HIPAA compliant" and "HIPAA certified" made her cringe.  We agree. The Anthem settlement has a lot of people asking about certifications for cybersecurity since Anthem was technically HITRUST Certified when the hacker first broke into their network.   Let's talk certifications and what they really mean under HIPAA, shall we...

The 2015 Anthem data breach could have been a watershed moment for HIPAA privacy and security in many ways. It remains to be seen if the settlement with OCR turns out to be another one. Either way, the historic breach and historic settlement have many lessons for us to learn. Let's discuss Anthem settlement lessons today. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/178

Time for the annual Halloween episode!  5 horror movie quotes are this year's theme.  We have 5 horror movie quotes that are matched up to data breach stories. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/177

We are #CyberAware is the tag for the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign.  Each year this campaign is run by the National Cybersecurity Alliance. In 2018, Kardon, Security First IT,  and HMWH are all signed up to be champions and publish information for the campaign.  Today, we will review what these campaigns are about and how you can use these and more like them to augment your educ...

What should we learn from the recent OCR settlement?  This time it was three settlements in one that related to a fourth.  There is more here than the headline-grabbing dollar amounts. These settlements are the best specific guidance you can get from OCR.  As always, we do the analysis for you! For more info go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/175

Often tech folks will say that they understand HIPAA. What that really means is that they understand the technical requirements of HIPAA.  The overconfidence sometimes works against them. Today we cover 3 stories tech should hear. It is important that they learn there is more than just their tech knowledge.

CIS 20 or SANS 20 is the name to reference a list of security controls that are intended to be used in the absence of any framework like NIST or HIPAA requirements. If you are trying to get the most bang for your buck and you know you are way behind on your security program CIS 20 may be the thing for you. For more info go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/173

Have you seen the report about consumer online digital trust and what it means to all businesses? The report is The Global State of Online Digital Trust  A Frost & Sullivan White Paper which was commissioned by ca technologies and published in July 2018.  This survey study was done to compare perceptions about consumer trusts that executives and security professionals have vs the actual consumer t...

I can tell you from experience snooping is a serious problem that haunts all entities with health information to protect.  Even if you don't know it is haunting you, it is. You will learn to fear it eventually. The extent of improper record access goes well beyond what most people imagine.  The image of a healthcare professional keeping patient information confidential is something we all assume i...

Securing home networks matters more now than ever before.  We are a very connected society. That creates great opportunities and new challenges every day.  Especially, for those tasked with securing all that connectivity. One opportunity that gets a lot of people talking is teleworking, telecommuting, working remotely, or working from home (WFH) - all seem to mean the same thing to most people.  O...

We live in a world of instant communications.  During a crisis, our normal standards of communications can be very limited.  How many different issues have you addressed for communications in a crisis in your plans?  We mention the business continuity and disaster recovery plans that everyone should have often in episodes. This is just one element of the plan that can make or break the business in...

It may not occur to many of you that a hacktivist should be on your security risk analysis (SRA).  They must be on there in this digital age. You never know what could trigger a hacktivist to focus on your business and put you under attack.  Why you may ask - well we will discuss that now. For more text go to KardonHQ.com/168

The FBI released an alert on July 12 titled Business E-mail Compromise E-mail Account Compromise  The 12 Billion Dollar Scam that should be on your radar.  BEC-EAC stands for Business Email Compromise - Email Account Compromise.  If you haven't learned about this particular threat it is important that you review it and assess the risk it brings to your company.  That's why we review these increasi...

We often get questions from both the tech staff and security officers about what should be documented regularly and why it should be done.  There are 3 reports you need to get from your tech team on a regular basis IMHO. Today, we will discuss those three reports, why you need them and what to do with them. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/166

One of the discussions you must always be prepared to have is that size does not matter when it comes to privacy and security issues.  Does size matter? Not as much as most people think and not in the ways that most people think either. More at https://HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/165

Want to know how to save money in a data breach?  You have to have a plan before you have the data breach to keep you from making costly mistakes.  Everyone knows a data breach can be expensive but there are studies that show us what makes them more expensive and what helps you save money.  The annual Ponemon cost of a data breach study has been published. IBM sponsors the study each year and it i...

Our most downloaded episode Is from way back in May of 2016.   HIPAA Access Logs Audits was our 54th episode. It is hard to believe it was that long ago!  Today we are doing a deeper dive into how many layers exist when it comes to access logs to see if you have thought of all of them. Which of the logs really matter and what do you do with them? For more go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/163

We all live in a world that revolves around communication tools today. Messaging failures are often the reason privacy breaches occur. In fact, we have 3 to share with you today. Messaging failures can occur in ways you never dreamed of until it happens to someone you know - not you, of course.  Today's episode covers 4 different stories about messaging failures. For more go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com...

OCR continues setting examples with the recent announcement of the $4,348,000 civil money penalty (CMP) that they imposed on MD Anderson.  A review of the details shows us once again that the enforcement of HIPAA obligations is not something they decide to do in a willy-nilly way.  It is specific and designed to set examples of what is expected. Most headlines are about that $4.3 million in penalt...

Medical device inventory is a challenge for most organizations.  Just as with computers and mobile devices, though, you can't understand your risks and security requirements if you don't know what you have out there.  A medical device treasure hunt is what it turns out to be when you make a dedicated effort to find them all in your organization. How do you find them all and how do you worry about...

It happens out of the blue.  You get a letter that tells you that there has been a complaint filed and an investigation has been opened by OCR.  That may not be the best day of your life. Just the thought of opening one of those letters can make some people feel queasy.  If you have ever experienced that moment you don't have it high on your lists of things to do again. Let's review the kinds of t...

In the past few weeks, the nerd news has been full of network security alerts and discussions about issues potentially lurking on every network, especially smaller ones.  These are not the things we normally worry about either. You usually think Windows, Office, Adobe, etc patches are the main alerts to worry about on your network. These are new alerts that could be in every network you use includ...

Secureworld Atlanta just finished up.  Turns out cyber experts do agree about many of the same issues we discuss here.  Two days of discussions amongst CISOs, ISOs, security techies, etc. about what to worry about and what to do for cyber protections.  Yes, there was a lot of really nerdy discussions but the good news is the central themes do not require geek speak to share with you. Learn more at...

Have you considered that there are other valuable information assets to protect than just PHI?  Most healthcare privacy and security programs only focus on PHI and HIPAA requirements. If you are already doing the work why not include all of your valuable information assets.  It is time to ask yourself what data should we protect?   For more go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/156

This time of year many of us think about cleaning out closets and switching seasons.  By clearing out your digital clutter you can double check the security of your devices and reduce your attack surface at the same time.  Plus, it is way easier than cleaning out the old hall closet that may have monsters lurking in the back of it.  Make the time to clean your digital clutter at least once or twic...