PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Is a Ransomware Attack a HIPAA Data Breach?

Ransomware - Security Awareness Training

As ransomware escalates and poses serious security risks for healthcare institutions, many privacy experts and legislators have called for more specific guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A few weeks ago, HHS responded to these calls with a detailed fact sheet to explain ransomware and provide advice.  Although most of […]

10 Implications of the New EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

EU GDPR Training General Data Protection Regulation

Last week, the EU issued the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a long-awaited comprehensive privacy regulation that will govern all 28 EU member countries.  Clocking in at more than 200 pages, this is quite a document to digest.  According to the European Commission press release: “The regulation will establish one single set of rules which […]

Lessons from the Latest HIPAA Enforcement Action

HIPAA Training OCR Enforcement

by Daniel J. Solove Recently, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) publicized its resolution agreement in its HIPAA enforcement action against St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (SEMC).  SEMC agreed to pay $218,000. The case began with a complaint filed with OCR back in 2012 that employees […]

The OPM Data Breach: Harm Without End?

By Daniel J. Solove The recent breach of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) network involved personal data on millions of federal employees, including data related to background checks. OPM is now offering 18 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft insurance to victims. But as experts note in a recent Washington Post article, […]

Law Firm Cyber Security and Privacy Risks

law firm data security

By Daniel J. Solove Law firms are facing grave privacy and security risks. Although a number of firms are taking steps to address these risks, the industry as a whole needs to grasp the severity of the risk. For firms, privacy and security risks can be significantly higher than for other organizations. Incidents can be […]

Why the C-Suite Should Have Coffee with the Privacy and Security Officers Every Week

  by Daniel J. Solove As I discussed in a previous post, the two key things that organizations can do to prevent data incidents can be summed up in a simple rhyme: The C-Suite must care The workforce must be aware In this post, I want to focus on the “C-Suite” – a term used […]

The 2 Essential Ways to Prevent Data Breaches

by Daniel J. Solove We’re in the midst of a crisis in data protection. Billions of passwords stolen. . . Mammoth data breaches. . . Increasing threats. . . Malicious hackers . . .

6 Lessons from the Costliest HIPAA Settlement to Date

by Daniel J. Solove The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced the costliest HIPAA settlement to date — a $4.8 million settlement with New York and Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and Columbia University (CU). The case involved the disclosure of protected health information on the Internet. Here […]

How Should Data Security Breach Notification Work?

Data Breach Notification

In 2005, a series of data security breaches affected tens of millions of records of personal information. I blogged about them here, here, here, here, and here. One of the major issues with data security breaches involves what kind of notification companies should provide. The spate of data security breach announcements began in February 2005, when ChoicePoint announced its breach […]

Data Security Laws, the States, and Federalism

Federalism and Privacy

Remember well over a year ago, when last February ChoicePoint announced it had a major data security breach? Since then hundreds of breaches have been announced — over 200 instances involving data on 88 million people. Several bills were proposed in Congress; many Senators and Representatives quickly emphasized the importance of privacy and data security. […]