PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Why Is HIPAA Data Breach Enforcement Increasing? An Insurer’s View from Katherine Keefe

    Recently, HIPAA enforcement over data breaches is increasing – a lot. This year has seen some of the largest monetary penalties. Why is this happening? I had the chance to interview Katherine Keefe, who leads the Beazley Breach Response (BBR) Services Group.  I am particularly interested in the insurer’s perspective, so I interviewed Katherine.

2017 HIPAA Enforcement

Art E.V.Pavlov_by_Repin

  The first quarter of 2017 is not yet over and the OCR has already released details of four HIPAA enforcement penalties totaling over $11 million.  2016 set a record with $20 million in fines for the year, with $5.2 million of that coming in the first quarter.  In just the first 2 months of […]

Lessons from 2016, the Biggest HIPAA Enforcement Year on Record

HIPAA Enforcement

Time to call the Guinness Book of World Records because HHS has set a new world record in HIPAA enforcement.  2016 saw a considerable increase in HIPAA enforcement resolution agreements and monetary penalties.  At the end of 2016, the OCR logged over $20 million in fines for HIPAA violations from 15 enforcement actions with monetary […]

HIPAA Cartoon on Snooping

HIPAA Snooping Cartoon by Daniel J Solove

This cartoon is about snooping, one of the most common HIPAA violations.  HIPAA prohibits accessing information that people don’t need to do their jobs.   It can be easy to look at electronic medical records, and people who snoop in this way might not perceive it as wrong.  But the cartoon invites people to imagine how […]

Cartoon on HIPAA Training

HIPAA Training Cartoon - Train without the pain

This cartoon depicts the way many people perceive HIPAA training.  But it doesn’t have to be this way. When most people hear HIPAA training they prepare themselves to slog through a boring lecture filled with tedious legalese.   Many have been subjected to hours of training that is overly technical, not useful for their jobs and not even […]

HIPAA Cartoon on Social Media Use

HIPAA Cartoon Social Media

Here’s a cartoon on HIPAA and social media use to jump start your week.  You can’t think enough about HIPAA these days.  HIPAA audits are back, and OCR is having a vigorous enforcement year this year, something I plan to post about soon.

HIPAA Cartoon on HIPAA’s Jargon

HIPAA Cartoon - TeachPrivacy HIPAA Training

HIPAA is famously impenetrable, with so many special terms and definitions.  I wrote this cartoon to capture the wonderful world of HIPAA jargon, which I hope fellow lovers of HIPAA can appreciate. I have another HIPAA cartoon here.

HIPAA Cartoon – HIPAA Compliance Program

HIPAA Training - Cartoon HIPAA Compliance

Recently, HIPAA celebrated its 20th birthday.  HHS issued a celebratory blog post.  HIPAA is 20 years old if you start counting from the date the statute was passed (1996).  If we measure HIPAA’s age from the date that the HIPAA Privacy Rule became effective (2003), then HIPAA is 13. So HIPAA could be 20 years […]

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 […]