Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

The protected health information of nearly 66,000 patients at Eden, N.C.-based Morehead Memorial Hospital was potentially exposed when two employees fell victim to a phishing attack July 21, reports Triad Business Journal.  

Cyberattacks against healthcare facilities, such as the WannaCry ransomware attack in May, are becoming a debilitating issue for hospitals. Three medical and legal experts discussed how hospitals can prevent and respond to these types of attacks in an article published…

There were 918 data breach incidents across the world in the first half of 2017, representing a 13 percent increase from the last six months of 2016, according to the Breach Level Index.

Equifax acknowledged it experienced a separate security issue in March, months before the massive breach it disclosed to its customers Sept. 7, reports Bloomberg.

The HHS Office of Inspector General will evaluate the department's ability to respond to cybersecurity threats, according to its updated work plan.

In recent months, cyberattacks have hit hospitals at alarming rates.

Augusta (Ga.) University Medical Center disclosed a potential breach of patient information five months after the associated phishing attack, The Augusta Chronicle reports.

Eighty-four percent of organizations indicated using cyberthreat information is essential to informing strong security practices, according to a Ponemon Institute survey. However, responding organizations also cited many barriers to effectively using threat intelligence.

Monroeville, Pa.-based Premier Medical Associates discovered a data breach affecting 900 visitors to its website, according to a Sept. 15 news release obtained by Becker's Hospital Review.

Arkansas Department of Human Services officials said they plan to notify affected Medicare beneficiaries of an incident in which multiple spreadsheets of personal and health information were emailed to a former employee, according to a Sept. 15 news release obtained…