Cybersecurity

Richmond, Texas-based OakBend Medical Center is notifying patients that it was the target of a ransomware attack on Sept. 1. 

While chief information security officers in the U.S. make an average of $584,000, up from $509,000 last year, their pay varies widely depending on their industry, according to an annual CISO survey by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

While the healthcare industry experienced 711 data breaches in 2021, some types of organizations were significantly more likely to have them than others, according to cybersecurity researcher Comparitech.

A new study from the Ponemon Institute found that one-quarter of health IT professionals said cyberattacks lead to increased patient mortality rates, NBC News reported Sept. 8.

Patients are suing Morristown, Vt.-based Lamoille Health Partners over a June ransomware attack that affected almost 60,000 patients, WCAX News reported Sept. 6. 

Medical billing company Practice Resources is being hit by a class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to protect patient information and took too long to notify patients following a data breach, according to Sept. 6 reporting on syracuse.com.

Ransomware attacks targeting the healthcare industry have increased by 94 percent in the last year as patient data is used by hackers to commit fraud and identity theft, VentureBeat reported Sept. 6. 

The HHS inspector general is calling on the department  to improve the cybersecurity oversight of an organ sharing network, according to Sept. 1 reporting in The Hill.

A former employee at the Gainesville-based University of Florida Health Shands hospital accessed the records of 941 patients without authorization. 

Cybersecurity company Ordr has released Ordr Clinical Defender 8.1 to secure connected clinical devices.