Tag Archives: cyberattack

HHS Issues Cybersecurity Guidance for Healthcare Organizations

By Aleksandra Vold and BakerHostetler on January 7, 2019 Posted in Cybersecurity, HHS

BakerHostetler will post a series of blogs to fully explore the recommendations and guidance Health and Human Services provides healthcare organizations in its report. Cyberattacks continue to rise across industries, and healthcare is no different. Eighty percent of U.S. physicians reported having experienced some form of cyberattack. In 2017, cyberattacks cost small and midsize businesses … Continue Reading

Recent OCR Newsletter Highlights Growing Cyber Extortion Threat for Healthcare Organizations

By Lynn Sessions and BakerHostetler on February 19, 2018 Posted in Cybersecurity

The OCR’s January 2018 newsletter details specific types of cyber extortion that healthcare organizations are currently encountering, including ransomware, denial of service attacks, distributed denial of service attacks and theft of protected health information (PHI). Each type of attack poses unique challenges that may affect an organization in different ways. However, all cyber extortion disrupts … Continue Reading

The DOJ Sets Out to Establish Standard for Data Security Incident Response and Preparation

By F. Paul Pittman on May 14, 2015 Posted in Data Breaches, Incident Response

Editor’s Note: The author is the most recent attorney to join our Privacy and Data Security Team. Paul represents clients in responding to potential data security incidents, counsels on incident response preparedness, and works with clients to develop appropriate policies to ensure compliance with applicable law, industry standards, or self-regulatory guidelines. He also counsels clients … Continue Reading

APT Threat Report Shows Cybersecurity Risks Not Limited to Identity Theft

By Craig A. Hoffman on February 22, 2013 Posted in Cybersecurity

We often talk to companies who believe they are an unlikely target for hackers because they do not have financial account information, Social Security numbers, or medical information. However, personal information is not the only item hackers are after. Indeed, the chief of the United States Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency … Continue Reading

Rockefeller Releases Results of Fortune 500 Survey on Cybersecurity

By William Weber on January 30, 2013 Posted in Cybersecurity, Online Privacy

Back in September, I posted here about Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller’s (D-WV) letters to all FORTUNE 500 companies inquiring about business opposition to cybersecurity legislation. This morning, Rockefeller released a report by his staff summarizing the gist of the roughly 300 responses he’s received to date. The report does not mention any … Continue Reading

Online Privacy and Data Security Legislation Update — 2011 Year in Review

By Craig A. Hoffman on December 28, 2011 Posted in Children’s Privacy, Cybersecurity, Federal Legislation, Online Privacy

The end of 2010 featured the Department of Commerce citing the need for a Privacy Bill of Rights in its green paper and the FTC's preliminary online privacy report discussing the need for a Do Not Track mechanism. The momentum generated by these reports led to the introduction of multiple versions of Do Not Track and comprehensive privacy rights bills in early 2011. By mid-2011, at least five different data security and breach notification proposals were circulating in the wake of high profile data breaches. Reports about location based tracking led to the introduction of geolocation privacy and surveillance bills. Proposed amendments to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and Video Privacy Protection Act were also made. And by the end of 2011, several cybersecurity bills designed to protect critical infrastructure had been introduced. Even though Congress held hearings on privacy issues, subcommittees approved several bills, and there was support from the Obama administration for comprehensive privacy legislation, as many expected, however, none of these bills were enacted when the first session of the 112th Congress adjourned December 18. The safe prediction for 2012 is more of the same--a lot of proposals but no consensus. It is certainly possible that another high profile data breach or cyberattack against a utility or government contractor could create enough urgency to force a consensus. However, numerous high profile breaches (Epsilon, Sony, Citi, RSA, Lockheed Martin and several health care providers), hactivist attacks against government security contractors (IRC Federal and HBGary), and reports about how the "weaponized" Stuxnet virus caused centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear facility to spin wildly out of control were not enough in 2011. We certainly expect to see data breach notification, comprehensive privacy, and cybersecurity bills addressed again in 2012. We may also see narrower bills aimed at online and location based tracking as well as Children's privacy. Emerging technology, including mobile payments and facial recognition, may also garner legislative attention. Below is a round-up of the 2011 privacy and data security legislative proposals, including links to more detailed analysis from our blog posts during the year.… Continue Reading