Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

The director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS urged HIPAA-covered healthcare entities to patch up vulnerabilities that give hackers easy access to organization’s computer servers.

From unauthorized users accessing hospital networks to ransomware attacks, here are six cybersecurity issues that left 296,960 patients' medical records vulnerable.

The hacker group Anonymous has vowed to take action against Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine, Infosecurity Magazine reported Feb. 25. 

The Houston Health Department warned patients Feb. 24 that a glitch in its system exposed 10,000 COVID-19 test results and patients' personal information.

Kalispell, Mont.-based Logan Health Medical Center notified patients Feb. 22 that a hacker gained access to 174,761 patients' protected health information.

Mariposa, Calif.-based John C. Fremont Hospital found an IT employee's login information listed for $800 on a hacking site, Forbes reported Feb. 23.

Cybercriminals are continuing to attack healthcare organizations at an alarming rate. These attacks bring negative consequences to healthcare systems' operations and finances in several ways, one of them being data breach lawsuits.

Chris Inglis, the nation's first cyber director, is pushing for companies and governments to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity, The Washington Post reported Feb. 22.

As healthcare organizations faced an increase in cybersecurity threats, the HHS increased its efforts to support, inform and advise the healthcare industry of possible threats and how to amp up security measures.

Seattle-based Sea Mar Community Health Center is being sued after a data breach that compromised 688,000 patient records, in which a patient's information was posted for sale on a data leak site.