HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation for $90,000

HHS OCR announced a second ransomware investigation settlement today. This one involved Bryan County Ambulance Authority (BCAA), a provider of emergency medical services in Oklahoma.  The Bryan County Ambulance Authority breach occurred in November 202… Continue reading HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation for $90,000

How many similar breaches can one entity have in one year before regulators do something?

How many data breaches can an entity have before either some regulator steps in with a corrective action plan or something happens to reduce the likelihood of more breaches?  Consider the following: Breach # 1 On February 22, 2022, Minuteman Senior Ser… Continue reading How many similar breaches can one entity have in one year before regulators do something?

North Korean Group Collaborates with Play Ransomware in Significant Cyber Attack

Ravie Lakshmanan reports: Threat actors in North Korea have been implicated in a recent incident that deployed a known ransomware family called Play, underscoring their financial motivations. The activity, observed between May and September 2024, has b… Continue reading North Korean Group Collaborates with Play Ransomware in Significant Cyber Attack

Albany ENT & Allergy Services settles state charges stemming from two patient data breaches; agrees to spend $2.25M on security program

In April 2023, DataBreaches reported two ransomware groups had each listed Albany ENT & Allergy Services (AENT)  on their respective leak sites. But one month later, when AENT sent notifications to regulators and 224,486 affected employees and pati… Continue reading Albany ENT & Allergy Services settles state charges stemming from two patient data breaches; agrees to spend $2.25M on security program

School ransomware attacks are on the rise. What can districts do?

Kara Arundel reports: … Ransomware — where threat actors use malware to block access to network systems and then demand payment to unlock it — has been ballooning in the K-12 sector over the last seven years, according to the K12 Security Informa… Continue reading School ransomware attacks are on the rise. What can districts do?

Postel S.p.A. and the 2023 Data Breach: The Medusa Attack and Sanctions from the Data Protection Authority

Over on SuspectFile, Marco A. De Felice writes: In August 2023, Postel S.p.A., a leading Italian company in the postal services and digital communications sector, became the victim of a serious cyberattack. The Medusa cybercriminal group exploited unre… Continue reading Postel S.p.A. and the 2023 Data Breach: The Medusa Attack and Sanctions from the Data Protection Authority

US Healthcare at risk: Strengthening resiliency against ransomware attacks

Microsoft writes: The healthcare sector faces a rapidly increasing range of cybersecurity threats, with ransomware attacks emerging as one of the most significant. A combination of valuable patient data, interconnected medical devices, and small IT/cyb… Continue reading US Healthcare at risk: Strengthening resiliency against ransomware attacks