Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

Salem (Ore.) Clinic and the Oregon Heart Center in Salem began notifying patients Jan. 19 that their protected health information was exposed during a May 2019 ransomware attack targeting their mailing service provider. 

Okanogan County (Wash.) Public Health is experiencing computer and phone system downtime after a cyberattack Jan. 18 shut down IT operations across the local government's network, according to Spokane, Wash.-based KREM News. 

HHS' Office for Civil Rights will not impose penalties for potential HIPAA violations of healthcare providers and their business associates who use online or web-based scheduling applications to coordinate COVID-19 vaccine appointments.

Abilene, Texas-based Hendrick Health System began notifying patients of a cyberattack that occurred last autumn and may have exposed their personal information.

Hackers who leaked the European Medicines Agency's COVID-19 vaccine data from Moderna and Pfizer manipulated the information before publishing it online, the EMA announced Jan. 15. 

While the recently proposed HHS updates to the HIPAA Privacy Rule aim to help patients get more digital access to their health information, some of the proposed changes pose concerns for healthcare providers. 

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield agreed to pay the Office for Civil Rights $5.1 million to settle potential HIPAA violations related to a data breach, HHS said Jan. 15. 

Colorado-based Pitkin County officials began notifying individuals Jan. 14 that some of their private information related to COVID-19 cases was exposed on the internet between October and December of last year. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 14 vacated University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's $4.3 million HIPAA fine for losing more than 35,000 patients' protected health information.

A hacker accessed the email account of a Tyler, Texas-based Precision Spine Care employee and attempted to commit payment fraud.