Cybersecurity

Hackers can stealthily issue commands to smart speakers from more than 150 feet away, even through windows, simply by pointing a high-powered laser at the device's microphone, new research suggests.

DNA-testing startup Veritas Genetics experienced a data breach that may have exposed consumers' information, according to Bloomberg.

Portland, Maine-based InterMed began notifying approximately 30,000 patients Nov. 5 regarding a cybersecurity incident that may have exposed their information, according to local NBC affiliate News Center Maine.

Though technology continues to advance to prevent errors and data breaches, cybersecurity incidents have been on the rise. This can be attributed to cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated and hospitals not having a large budget for cybersecurity solutions.

The average ransomware payment in the third quarter of 2019 increased 13 percent to $41,198 compared to the second quarter this year, according to a Coveware report.

Around one-third of hospital executives have purchased cybersecurity tools blindly after experiencing a data breach, according to a Black Book Market Research report published Nov. 4.

A limited number of patients within Washington University School of Medicine's ophthalmology and visual sciences department may have had their information viewed by an unauthorized person.

New York City-based Brooklyn Hospital Center is notifying an undisclosed number of patients about a cybersecurity incident that may have exposed their information.

Provo-based Utah Valley Eye Center confirmed that the demographic information of more than 20,000 patients may have been exposed in a cybersecurity incident last year, according to the Daily Herald.

Numerous privacy incidents at hospitals, IT suppliers and other healthcare organizations captured public attention last month.