Tag Archives: privacy

Beware of recycling old computers

I recently had a chat with a colleague who recounted his recent experience with a computer he recovered from a local electronics recycling center. His story was a bit shocking and I thought it really deserved a write-up. Electronics waste is a huge burden to local governments around the world. The pace of advancement in […]

Lessons learned from the Target PCI Breach

More information has been trickling out regarding the massive Target PCI breach that took place during the 2013 Christmas shopping season. Forensic researchers first learned that hackers penetrated Target’s network by means of a business transaction portal. It appears that Fazio Mechanical Services was the source. Fazio is a Pittsburgh-area nationwide mechanical contractor that services […]

Defend Against the CryptoLocker Virus

The “CryptoLocker” virus has been making a great deal of noise lately. Though we at Thom Infotech have not personally encountered it, we know others who have. We’ve written this post to help you to understand and defend against the CryptoLocker virus. What is it? CryptoLocker is an insidious twist on the all-too-familiar virus or […]

WordPress now offers automatic updates

There is welcome news for web developers this week as WordPress now offers automatic updates to the uber-popular web development platform. Starting out as a blogging tool, WordPress has morphed into a full website development ecosystem. Like many, this author has embraced WordPress due to its simplicity, flexibility, and easy search engine optimization. The importance […]

Advocate Healthcare HIPAA Breach Results in Class Action Lawsuit

Reports of HIPAA breach incidents are nothing new. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) stipulates that healthcare providers, insurance companies, and those who serve them (also known as “Business Associates”) take extensive measures to protect the Protected Health Information (PHI) of their patients. Even the dearly departed are protected from such disclosures. For this […]

Evernote hack results in forced password change

Evernote is a really cool app. I use it heavily in conjunction with David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system to organize my day and achieve my goals. I also use it for more mundane tasks such as grocery lists. I use it on my PC, my iPad, and my Android phone – it syncs up […]

“Terrific Employee” loses job over USB Memory Stick breach

The woman faulted for the latest breach of Utah Medicaid data, an account manager for Goold Data Systems, is no longer employed at Goold. “She was a terrific employee who made a mistake, a pharmacist who oversees the entire Utah account,” said Jim Clair, CEO of the Maine-based company, which manages pharmacy claims for several […]

MA medical billing practice faces Hipaa penalties

Former owners of a Marblehead-based medical billing practice and four pathology groups have agreed to collectively pay $140,000, settling allegations that sensitive medical records and confidential billing information for tens of thousands of Massachusetts patients were improperly disposed of at a public dump, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today. The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior […]

Java 6 support to end in February 2013

Oracle has announced that the end-of-life (EOL) of Java SE 6 has been moved from November 2012 to February 2013. This is to give organizations small and large more time to transition to Java SE 7. This is the second EOL extension given to Java SE 6, the original EOL date being July 2012. The […]