DAILY UPDATE: Community Health Center Data Hack and CHIP Revocations as Markets Bounce Back

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC) detected a data breach on Jan. 2 after identifying unusual activity within its computer systems. An investigation confirmed that a skilled hacker had accessed and extracted data but did not delete or lock any information. If CHC’s claims are accurate, this is a positive outcome, as hackers often deploy ransomware, a type of attack in which they lock systems and demand payment before restoring access.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/2h47urt5

Over one million Floridians have had their health insurance revoked as a result of a nationwide disenrollment from coverage that was previously safeguarded as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrolment in Florida has fallen from 5.1 million to 3.8 million between March 2023 and October 2024, according to health care research non-profit the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/tj8smmes

US stocks bounced back on Monday as investors looked beyond President Trump’s latest tariff threats, including new levies on steel and aluminum imports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added nearly 0.4% after the blue-chip index on Friday booked its worst loss in nearly four weeks. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose roughly 0.6%, while the NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC) popped nearly 1% as shares of AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) surged 3%, along with other tech stocks.

Investors weighed Trump’s recent pledge to introduce additional 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum from all countries, with the official announcement expected on Monday.

Visualize: How private equity tangled banks in a web of debt, from the Financial Times.

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Filed under: Career Development, Drugs and Pharma, Ethics, Information Technology, Investing, Marcinko Associates, Recommended Books, Sponsors | Tagged: China, CHIP, Community Health Center, covid, data breach, data hack, economy, KFF, news, Nvidia, politics, RansomWare, tariff, Trump | Leave a comment »

HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Ransomware and Bankruptcy!

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Bad things can happen in paperless practices, Doc

By Darrell Pruitt DDS

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“Illinois Hospital First To Shut Down Completely After Ransomware Attack”

-By Karl Bode for Techdirt, Jun 16th 2023.

“Such attacks can have a chain reaction on already broken hospitals and health care systems. Health care workers are sometimes forced to resort to pen and paper for patient charts and prescriptions, increasing the risk of potentially fatal error. Delays in care can also prove fatal. And ransomware is only one of the problems that plague dated medical IT systems whose repair is being made increasingly costly and difficult by medical health care system manufacturers keen on monopolizing repair.”

Remember the MCNA (Managed Care of North America) data breach that was reported by Bill Toulas in Bleeping Computer on May 29th? There have been new developments.

LINK: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mcna-dental-data-breach-impacts-89-million-people-after-ransomware-attack/?fbclid=IwAR29pojexxoxDrrjIbcQqAAgnw17L5xqMXGxCnnDk_ZL0-kIv2PCniVaG0Y

“Patients of a Florida-based dental insurance provider brought a proposed class action lawsuit alleging negligence over a ransomware data breach that leaked the private information of more than 8.9 million people on the dark web, saying they face a lifetime risk of having their identities stolen.”

–David Minsky for Law 360

[June 16th, 2023]

If you are still using paper records, don’t change now.

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Filed under: Breaking News, Career Development, Drugs and Pharma, Ethics, Experts Invited, Health Insurance, Information Technology, Investing | Tagged: bankruptcy, Darrell Pruitt, DDS, EHRs, electronic health records, electronic medical. records, EMRs, health information technology, HIT, RansomWare | Leave a comment »

A DENTAL INDUSTRY SECRET: No One Wants to Share!

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Darrell Pruitt DDS

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Ransomware is getting worse, not better.

One doesn’t see this in dental literature, but ransomware is not going away. It is getting worse. “Ransomware Victim Count Increased by 75% in 2023” By Steve Alder for The HIPAA Journal, Jun 4, 2024. https://www.hipaajournal.com/ransomware-victim-count-increased-by-75-in-2023/

A new report from the Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant suggests several reasons for the increase in attacks. “First, there has been a resetting of the cybe rcriminal ecosystem after a tumultuous year in 2022, an influx of new actors conducting attacks, new partnerships between existing groups, and members of disrupted, prolific ransomware groups such as Conti starting up their own RaaS operations. While the attacks in 2023 largely followed the same patterns as the previous year, there were some notable changes with several groups trialing new tactics, techniques, and procedures.

For example, to increase the pressure on victims to pay, attacks on healthcare providers saw extortion demands issued to patients whose data were stolen, threatening to publish their medical data if they did not personally pay a ransom. The ALPHV group created a searchable database to make stolen data more accessible, and threats were issued to report attacks on publicly traded companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”

Imagine how ransomware would affect your practice if the extortion scheme bypassed you to directly threaten your patients – and blamed you for not paying the “reasonable” ransom demand.

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Career Development, Experts Invited, Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: ALPHV, Conti, cyber attack, Darrell Pruitt, DDS, dental industry, dental industry secret, dental secret, HIPAA, HIPAA Journal, HIT, IT, Mandiant, Pruitt, RaaS, RansomWare, SEC | Leave a comment »

DENTISTRY: Ransomware e-Dental Records

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Darrell Pruitt DDS

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The ransom one pays to extortionists is only part of the costs. Now there are also legal liabilities to paying.

We will be hearing much more about ransomware in dentistry soon.

Guaranteed.

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New Ransomware Reporting Requirements Kick in as Victims Increasingly Avoid Paying

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DAILY UPDATE: Hospital Ransomware Attack as Stock Markets Mixed Ahead of Inflation Reading

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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A ransomware attack has caused a health care chain, which operates 30 hospitals in six states, to move patients from some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals, while putting certain procedures on pause, the company announced.

According to a statement from Ardent Health Services, the attack happened on November 23rd. The company said as a result of the attack, it took its network offline and suspended user access to its information technology applications, including the software used to document patient care.

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Here is where the major benchmarks ended:

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

The S&P 500^® index was down 4.31 points (0.1%) at 4,550.58; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13.44 points at 35,430.42; the NASDAQ Composite^® was down 23.27 points (0.2%) at 14,258.49.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was down about 8 basis points at 4.261%.
CBOE^® Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.29 at 12.98.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

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Filed under: Alternative Investments, Financial Planning, Funding Basics, Glossary Terms, Health Economics, Information Technology, Investing, Touring with Marcinko | Tagged: Ardent Health, CBOE, energy, inflation, Marcinko, markets, NASDAQ, RansomWare, Russell Index 2000, S&P 500, stock markets, TNX, VIX | Leave a comment »

BEWARE: Ransomware Attacks in Healthcare

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

HHS CYBER SECURITY PROGRAM

By Staff Reporters

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According to Healthcare Brew, the rising tide of ransomware attacks in healthcare is exacting a hefty price from hospitals and other medical providers who’ve had their data locked up by cyberattacks.

Healthcare providers face potential costs arising from more than just the initial ransom; targeted systems have seen lost patient revenue, the need for remediation, and additional recovery costs. And even the largest health systems in the country aren’t immune to the costly ripple effects, such as delayed patient care, including surgeries, that can linger even after an initial attack.

“Not only is the frequency [of ransomware attack] picking up, but I’d say the magnitude or the size is also getting bigger,” said Brian Tanquilut, a healthcare services analyst at Jefferies.

CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s largest hospital chains, was hit with a high-profile cyberattack in October. The system has not publicly disclosed the financial fallout, but a Dec. 1 update published on the company’s website said that the cyberattackers gained access to personal information for some patients and that an investigation is ongoing. Chad Burns, a spokesperson for CommonSpirit, declined requests for an interview.

A report from the cybersecurity firm Sophos determined that “the average remediation cost [from a ransomware attack] went up from $1.27 million in 2020 to $1.85 million in 2021.” For others, it’s much more costly.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/082610254

Tenet Healthcare, a Dallas-based healthcare company, reported a loss of about $100 million attributed to a ransomware attack in April, according to its second-quarter earnings report. San Diego-based Scripps Health said a ransomware attack cost it nearly $113 million in May and June 2021 primarily due to lost revenue, along with recovery costs. Keep reading here.

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ORDER: https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Health-Information-Technology-Security/dp/0826149952/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254413315&sr=1-5

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Career Development, Ethics, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, Healthcare Finance, Information Technology | Tagged: Cyber Security Program, HHS, HHS Cyber Security Program, RansomWare, ransomware attacks, RANSOMWARE Attacks in Healthcare | 1 Comment »

DENTAL DATA BREACH: Paper is Safer – It Always has Been!

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS

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PAPER IS SAFER – IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN!

“9M dental patient records published following LockBit ransomware attack”

–By Duncan Riley for Silicone Angle, May 30th, 2023
READ: https://siliconangle.com/2023/05/30/9m-dental-patient-records-published-following-lockbit-ransomware-attack/

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We knew digital dental records were never safe, even though our trusting patients had no idea. I started warning dentists about sudden public rejection of electronic dental records over a decade ago. In fact, that is why the Texas Dental Association suspended my membership.

It’s the start of the predictable end of digital records in most dental offices. The TDA and the ADA were repeatedly warned, but chose to say nothing about the comparative security of paper to dues-paying members. In fact, the American Dental Association marketed its own digital dental record system until a few years ago when over 500 dental practices using their system were hacked. Then the ADA quietly sold it.

“The records of nearly 9 million people have been published online following a LockBit ransomware attack on Managed Care of North America. The company, also known as MCNA Dental, is a leading provider of dental plans in the U.S., serving private employers, individuals and families through a range of Medicare, long-term and commercial plans. MCNA is also the largest dental insurer for government-sponsored Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, programs.”

The question is, what will this news do to huge, multi-location dental franchises such as Aspen Dental, Monarch, Medicare and other discount dentistry centers. Dentists have proven they can run successful, large practices using pegboards, ledger cards and bulky, loud metal filing cabinets without risking their patients’ privacy.

By the way, my practice is accepting new patients. Oh yea: TDA, you still owe me $200 in prorated dues for the remainder of the year you kicked me out. Idiots!

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Breaking News, Career Development, Ethics, Experts Invited, Information Technology, Managed Care, Op-Editorials | Tagged: ADA, American Dental Associaion, children's health nsurance program, CHIPS, Darrell K. Pruitt DDS, DDS, dental dta breach, dental records, DMD, DMS, Duncan Riley, electronic dental records, lockbit, MCNA, MCNA dental, Medicaid, On Children's Health Insurance, Pruitt, RansomWare, ransomware attacks, TDA, Texas Dental Association | Leave a comment »

ASPEN DENTAL: Cyber Attack with Data Breach

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Darrell Pruitt DDS

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Aspen Dental has been hit by a cyber attack. Aspen has over a thousand dental offices across the nation, and even though their official website says there are no signs of patient information being compromised, the American Dental Association is calling it a “breach,” since the attack involved ransomware.

If Aspen Practices each maintain dental records on 10,000 patients, and there are over a thousand Aspen locations, that would mean more than 10 million patients’ records were potentially breached. Texas has 58 Aspen locations – second only to Florida which has 124. (There are three Aspen locations near me in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex).

Last of all, history has shown that businesses which suffer one ransomware attack are likely to be targeted a second or even third time. It never ends. And then there are the HIPAA violations and remediation … This is bad for Aspen Dental.

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Information Technology, Op-Editorials, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: ADA, American Dental Associaion, Aspen Dental, Darrell Pruitt, dental data breach, HIPAA, RansomWare | 2 Comments »

HOSPITAL RANSOMWARE ATTACKS: A Delivery and Patient Outcomes Analysis

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

NIHCM GRANTS

By Hannah Neprash

By Sayeh Sander Nikpay

By Claire McGlave

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

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Despite increased occurrences, the lack of data on ransomware attacks has impeded research.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/0826102549

This research team will use a newly developed database to analyze how hospital ransomware attacks affect health care delivery and patient outcomes. The findings will provide new evidence for ongoing debates and legislative proposals about improving the cybersecurity of critical US infrastructure – including hospitals.

The Effect of Hospital Ransomware Attacks on Health Care Delivery and Patient Outcomes

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Ransomware Simplified?

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS

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“We’re now truly in the era of ransomware as pure extortion without the encryption –
Why screw around with cryptography and keys when just stealing the info is good enough”

–Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

{The Register, June 25, 2022]

READ: https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/25/ransomware_gangs_extortion_feature/

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The RETURN of Paper Dental Records?

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Darrell Pruitt DDS

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More reasons to stick with paper if you haven’t yet become paperless, Doc

“Paying Ransomware Paints Bigger Bullseye on Target’s Back – Ransomware attackers often strike targets twice, regardless of whether the ransom was paid. Paying ransomware attackers doesn’t pay off and often paints a bigger target on a victim’s back. Eighty percent of ransomware victims that paid their attackers were hit a second time by the malware scourge.” – Threatpost, June 8, 2022.

Paying Ransomware Paints Bigger Bullseye on Target’s Back

A dentist can avoid the second ransomware attack by returning to paper … What? Yeah. I said it.

“New ransomware numbers come from a Cybereason’s April ransomware survey of 1,456 cybersecurity professionals. According to the gated report (registration required), victims that were successfully extorted were not only targeted a second time, but frequently data encrypted by criminals later became unusable during the decryption process because of corruption issues.”

OR – one can retire!

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Career Development, Experts Invited, Glossary Terms, Health Economics, Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: Darrell Pruitt DDS, dental records, eDRs, electronic dental records, paper dental records, RansomWare | 1 Comment »

DENTISTS: Don’t Write Many Prescriptions / Ransomware and Cyber News

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

A Personal Op-Ed Perspective

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By Darrell Pruitt DDS

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Dentists simply don’t write that many prescriptions.

Henry Schein employees are not defending Stanley Bergman’s venture into e-prescription software. That is because they know it stinks. Digital prescriptions not only endanger patients and dental practices, but they offer no tangible benefits over paper. None!

Digital only increases the profits for Stanley Bergman and pharmaceutical interests – who eliminate data entry personnel from their payroll.

“First do no harm”

Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We welcome back the op-eds of colleague Dr. Pruitt and trust he remains well in 2022.

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Ransomware and Dentistry – Recent News

“Why Healthcare Will Remain a Top Cyberattack Target in 2022 – one of the main reasons criminals are interested in healthcare data is that it contains a lot of details, such as date of birth, Social Security numbers – the active ingredients for identity theft. You can get those data points from any number of places, but healthcare organizations are the richest sources.” Healthcare Info Security, December 28, 2021.https://www.govinfosecurity.com/interviews/healthcare-will-remain-top-cyberattack-target-in-2022-i-4999

“Ransomware in 2022: You May Be Screwed, but Without Insurance It Could Always Be Worse – A commentator recently summed up the risk of ransomware attack in 2022: ‘we’re all screwed.’ True enough. But that’s all the more reason to prepare right now. After all, the only thing worse than a ransomware attack is not having adequate insurance coverage when it occurs. The time to prepare is now.” National Law Review, Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/ransomware-2022-you-may-be-screwed-without-insurance-it-could-always-be-worse

“Insurers run from ransomware cover as losses mount” Summary:
– Lloyd’s of London discourages cyber expansion-sources
– Ransomware as profitable as Colombian cocaine cartels
– Some insurers asking policyholders to pay half of ransoms
– Attackers change strategy from scattergun to focused.Reuters, November 19, 2021.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/insurers-run-ransomware-cover-losses-mount-2021-11-19/

Yep. We’re all screwed. Well, not all of us.

Paper remains the best deterrent to ransomware.

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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma, Experts Invited, Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: cyber news, Darrell Pruitt DDS, dentistry, dentists, e-prescription software, eDR, eDRs, Henry Schein, op-ed, RansomWare, Stanley Bergman | Leave a comment »

Can electronic dental records survive the ransomware cure?

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS

Compared to hospitals, the business of dentistry is as simple as a lemonade stand. Dental practice management software is an option – not a necessity.

Thank goodness.

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“Cyber Daily: Congress Inches Toward Response to Ransomware Attacks – U.S. legislators in the House and Senate have several bills in play that would put new requirements on companies [including dental offices] to report cyber incidents, including details about ransomware payments.”

WSJ.com, Oct. 11, 2021.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/cyber-daily-congress-inches-toward-response-to-ransomware-attacks-11633974966

As transparency makes it increasingly difficult for dentists to hide ransomware breaches from their patients by quietly paying the ransom (one or more times), paper dental records remain the gold standard of security. Practice management software is not only more expensive than paper records, but it vastly increases patients’ risk of identity theft while offering them NO TANGIBLE BENEFITS… Just ask anyone.

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Career Development, Experts Invited, Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: Darrell Pruitt DDS, dental records, EDR RANSOMWARE, eDRs, RansomWare | Leave a comment »

Recent EHR News

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Recent EHR News

By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS

“Cerber ransomware decryption tool was available for 1 day before hackers rendered it useless – The authors of Cerber fixed the flaw in the ransomware’s code that made decryption possible.” By India Ashok for International Business Times, August 18, 2016.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cerber-ransomware-decryption-tool-was-available-1-day-before-hackers-rendered-it-useless-1576662

“HIPAA Breach Case Results in Record $5.5 Million Penalty.” By Aldrin Brown for MSP Mentor, August 18, 2016.

http://mspmentor.net/msp-mentor/hipaa-breach-case-results-record-55-million-penalty

“HIT Costs Rose 40% Per Physician Since 2009.” By Christine Kern, contributing writer, Health IT Outcomes, August 19, 2016.

http://www.healthitoutcomes.com/doc/hit-costs-rose-per-physician-since-0001

Kern: “Healthcare organizations are facing serious financial challenges as they are forced to convert their practices and patient records to digital formats.”

“Office for Civil Rights to Increase Investigations of Smaller HIPAA Breaches.” By National Law Review, August 19, 2016

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/office-civil-rights-to-increase-investigations-smaller-hipaa-breaches

NLR: “HHS Office for Civil Rights will cast a wider net and increase its investigations into smaller HIPAA privacy breaches starting this month. OCR announced a new initiative to increase its efforts examining breaches that affect fewer than 500 individuals. OCR Regional Offices already investigate every reported breach affecting 500 or more individuals, and will continue to do so, but now they will intensify efforts to scrutinize smaller breaches.”

“2016 is the year to Go Paperless’ – Stop putting it off, going paperless can save you tens of thousands of dollars.” By Larry Emmott for Emmott on Technology, August 19, 2016.

http://emmottontechnology.com/

Conclusion

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Filed under: Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: cybersecurity, Darrell K. Pruitt DDS, RansomWare, Recent EHR News | 3 Comments »

Are Paper MRs Safer than EMRs?

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Paper is Safer!

[By Darrell K. Puitt DDS]

“Ransomware Attacks Can’t Hide from HIPAA Anymore – Hospital and health system executives are on notice: Come clean about ransomware attacks as early as possible or be prepared to face sanctions.”

By Scott Mace, for HealthLeaders Media, July 19, 2016.

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/ransomware-attacks-cant-hide-hipaa-anymore#

Dean Sittig, a clinical informatics professor at University of Texas Health Science Center and the Houston UT-Memorial Hermann Center for Health Care Quality and Safety, tells HealthLeaders,

“The new HHS guidance is going to really ratchet up people’s attention, because now you’re also talking about big fines from the government, as well as the effects of the ransomware.”

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Show Me the Money?

“Survey: Nearly Three Quarters of Physicians Say They Haven’t Seen ROI From Electronic Records.”

By Matt Goodman: [Dallas/Fort Worth Healthcare Daily, July 21, 2016]

http://healthcare.dmagazine.com/2016/07/21/survey-nearly-three-quarters-of-physicians-say-they-havent-seen-roi-from-electronic-records/

Conclusion

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Filed under: Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: D. Kellus Pruitt DDS, EMRs, HIT, medical records, RansomWare | 4 Comments »

PHI RansomWare Just Went Up!

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

[By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS]

Expect malware entrepreneurs to charge what the market will bear, again and again.

“OCR Releases Guidance on Ransomware: ‘Your Money or Your PHI’”. By Dianne J. Bourque for The National Law Review,” July 12, 2016

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/ocr-releases-guidance-ransomware-your-money-or-your-phi

Bourque: “A key component of the guidance provides a ransomware attack that encrypts a Covered Entity’s ePHI is presumed to be a breach. As ransomware can infect a Covered Entity’s entire system, this presumption may lead to enormous breach notification obligations.”

Bourque adds: “OCR indicates that when ePHI is encrypted as a result of a ransomware attack, a breach has occurred because the ePHI encrypted by the ransomware was acquired (i.e., unauthorized individuals took possession of the information) and is thus a ‘disclosure’ not permitted under the HIPAA Privacy Rule has occurred.”

When patients are notified of data breaches – for any reason – many will quietly change providers. According to The Ponemon Institute, loss of future income is the most costly result of lawfully reporting data breaches…. and ransomware attacks are at “epidemic” levels. I have heard dentists are paying the ransom quickly.

The disincentives to do the right thing were overwhelming providers even before the OCR’s recent ruling. Such is the ugly nature of extortion.

Assessment

Cha-ching!

Conclusion

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HOSPITALS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466558731
CLINICS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900
ADVISORS: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org
FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors
Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance
Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security
Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care

***

Filed under: iMBA, Inc., Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: D. Kellus Pruitt DDS, Dianne J. Bourque, HIPAA, malware entrepreneurs, OCR, PHI, RansomWare | Leave a comment »

Are the ME-P and Ashley Madison Related?

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

On Ransom-Ware, Black-Hat Hackers, the Gullible, Guilty … and Personal Cyber Security

A-Special ME-P Report

***

By Dr. David E. Marcinko MBA MBBS [Hon]

[Publisher-in-Chief]

Your Ashley Madison Account
[Paul recommends to read this email]‏
But … don’t fall for it!

I just received this email message from sharingservices@aol.com: In this time of medical information and financial advisory data cyber security breaches, here is a warning about personal security, too!

If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!

*********************************************************************************************************

Unfortunately your data was leaked in the recent hacking of Ashley Madison and I know have your information. I have also used your user profile to find your Facebook page, using this I can now message all of your friends and family members.

If you would like to prevent me from sharing this dirt info with all of your friends and family members (and perhaps even your employers too?) then you need to send 1 bitcoin to the following BTC address.

Bitcoin Address:
1AEJiZFnELwRZVjmVSvDSwUaXNZy4X9bQN

You may be wondering why should you and what will prevent other people from doing the same, in short you now know to change your privacy settings in Facebook so no one can view your friends/family list. So go ahead and update that now (I have a copy if you don’t pay) to stop any future emails like this.

You can buy bitcoin using online exchanges easily. If the bitcoin is not paid within 3 days of 23 Sep 2015 then my system will automatically message all of your friends and family members. The bitcoin address is unique to you.

Consider how expensive a divorce lawyer is. If you are no longer in a committed relationship then think about how this will affect your social standing amongst family and friends. What will your friends and family think about you?

Sincerely,
Paul

***

*******************************************************************************************************************

An Object lesson to all ME-P readers and subscribers

After review, I noted the following faults with this blast message:

* No sender last name.
* Sender blast email service
* Multiple email addresses
* Poor grammar
* I do not have – or ever had – a Facebook account
* I do not have – or ever had – an AM account

Assessment

Note any other “give-aways“? Don’t fall for this ploy. And, don’t be Gullible or Guilty. Forewarned is forearmed.

More:

Conclusion

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

PRACTICES: www.BusinessofMedicalPractice.com
HOSPITALS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466558731
CLINICS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900
ADVISORS: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org
FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors
Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance
Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security
Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care

***

Filed under: Information Technology, Risk Management | Tagged: Ashley Madison, Black Hat Hackers, Cyber Security, Data breaches, Facebook, RansomWare | 4 Comments »

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On Ransom-Ware, Black-Hat Hackers, the Gullible, Guilty … and Personal Cyber Security

A-Special ME-P Report

If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!

An Object lesson to all ME-P readers and subscribers

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