The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights quarterly newsletter provides helpful tips for defending against common cyber-attacks. According to the newsletter, the number of breaches of unsecured electronic protected health information impacting 500 or more individuals increased by 45% between 2019 and 2020. The number of breaches due to IT computer hacking accounted for 66% of all breaches in this demographic group.
While some breaches are lodged by sophisticated actors, some breaches could be prevented if organizations implemented HIPAA Security Rule requirements to address phishing emails, exploitation of known vulnerabilities, and weak authentication protocols. Following good security practices can help prevent cyber-attacks.
A copy of the 2022 First Quarter newsletter may be accessed by clicking here.