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 […]
Author Archives: Matthew Thom
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 […]
It’s the second Tuesday of the month, so that means it’s Patch Tuesday. Microsoft will begin rolling out patches as the day progresses. This means your computer will likely reboot overnight. Here’s a rundown of the patches you can expect. Three updates classified as “Critical”: Internet Explorer – all versions from 6 to 10 Microsoft […]
It has been said that the most difficult interface to secure is the one between the chair and the keyboard. This bit of “nerd humor” actually has its basis in fact. Art Gross has written a very informative post titled “Your employees will cause your next HIPAA breach” concerning the most common cause of HIPAA […]
I’m sure you’ve seen this, and I hope you haven’t fallen for it. Nevertheless, it must work because the bad guys keep doing it. The term is “Trendjacking”, and it refers to spammers and malware authors using current trends to trick you into opening malicious email messages. Trendjacking threats are a growing concern for computer […]
I’ve never been a boy scout. Sometimes I wish I had been. I appreciate the fact that preparedness is such a central tenet of the organization. Any good Boy Scout (or wanna-be Boy Scout) should be prepared for a data disaster. What kind of data disaster, you ask? Here are a few possibilities: Computer or […]
According to the LA Times, five workers and a student research assistant were fired in the wake of a patient privacy breach affecting the patient medical records of 14 patients. According to a statement released by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the 14 patient records were “inappropriately accessed” between June 18 and June 24. Four of those […]
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that the managed care company WellPoint, Inc. had agreed to pay a fine of $1.7 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy and security rules. Like nearly all HHS fines, this case sends […]
Skipped HIPAA Security Risk Analysis costs ISU $400,000 IT consultants and Managed IT service providers have been warning their clients that the HIPAA Security Risk Analysis is a very necessary component in their efforts to comply with the HIPAA rule. Some of our medical clients and prospects agree, while others are skeptical about the need […]
It’s nearly time to say goodbye Windows XP. This past April marked the one year count-down to the eventual discontinuation of support for the venerable operating system (technically on April 8, 2014). What does this mean to you? In short, it’s high time you moved on and adopted Windows 7 or Windows 8. Windows XP […]