Cybersecurity

Chicago-based CommonSpirit said during its Oct. 2 ransomware attack, an unauthorized third party gained access to files containing patients' personal information from one of its affiliates, Seattle-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.

The Department of Veterans Affairs admitted it failed to protect the COVID-19 vaccination status data for about 500,000 of its employees after a spreadsheet containing the information was improperly shared in October 2021, FedScoop reported Nov. 30. 

An employee of University Medical Center of Southern Nevada inappropriately accessed its EHR system, allowing the individual to gain access to 1,861 patients medical records. 

Mena (Ark.) Regional Health System is notifying patients that an unauthorized party has accessed its systems and removed a limited number of files that may have contained their personal information. 

Employees of Houston-based St. Luke's Health say they are being asked to repay the health system after they were overpaid during the ransomware attack against its parent company, Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, Fox 26 Houston reported Nov. 29.

A new report from software review platform Capterra found that healthcare organizations with more than 70 percent of their medical devices connected were 24 percent more likely to experience a cyberattack than practices with 50 percent or fewer connected devices.

Security vulnerabilities in EHR systems have caused more than 40 million Americans' medical records to have been stolen or exposed this year, USA Today reported Nov. 29. 

In the last three years, the volume and frequency of healthcare data breaches have nearly doubled, from 368 in 2018 to 715 in 2021, BankInfoSecurity reported Nov. 23. 

Below are seven hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking cybersecurity talent.

Farmington, N.M.-based San Juan Regional Medical Center has agreed to settle a lawsuit regarding a Sept. 8, 2020, data breach that compromised the protected health information of patients, Top Class Action reported Nov. 23.