Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Report on Cardiac Device Cyber Vulnerabilities Fuels Debate

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 26, 2016

Medical device cybersecurity is an important area of focus that needs a brighter spotlight. But a new report questioning the security of certain cardiac devices from St. Jude Medical Inc. raises some serious ethical issues about the whistleblowers.

Healthcare Hacker Attack Victim Tally Soaring

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 25, 2016

Hacker attacks added to the HHS Office for Civil Rights "wall of shame" tally of major health data breaches in recent weeks have affected a total of more than 8 million victims. But it's not just hacker attacks that are racking up big breach victim totals.

Provider Treating Nightclub Shooting Victims Reports Breach

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 24, 2016

A Florida healthcare provider that treated victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in June is notifying patients impacted by a breach involving record snooping. The incident spotlights common privacy and security challenges.

The Details Behind HHS Breach Investigation Ramp-Up

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 23, 2016

In this in-depth interview, Iliana Peters of the HHS Office for Civil Rights explains the agency's strategy for ramping up investigations of health data breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals.

Tackling Medical Device Security as a Public Health Issue

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 19, 2016

Medical device cybersecurity must be recognized as a critical public health issue so that all segments of the healthcare sector understand their roles in addressing the many complicated challenges involved, says Dale Nordenberg, M.D., of the Medical Device Innovation, Safety and Security Consortium.

Medical Device Security: Creating an Inventory

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 15, 2016

The creation of sophisticated inventory systems is critical to ensuring the security of an organization's diverse medical devices, says Dale Nordenberg, M.D., who heads a medical device security consortium. Learn about the group's latest efforts in this arena.

How Patient Consent Policies Affect Health Info Exchange

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 12, 2016

Granular patient consent policies - adopted despite HIPAA allowing certain data to be shared without explicit patient consent - can lead to less data being exchanged by healthcare entities, says researcher Julia Adler Milstein of the University of Michigan, who describes results of a new study.

Overcoming National HIE Privacy, Security Obstacles

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 11, 2016

The legal obstacles to achieving the goal of national health information exchange can be overcome, attorney Valita Fredland, the new privacy officer of the Indiana Health Information Exchange, contends in this interview.

DoD Watchdog Agency to Audit Military EHR Security

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 10, 2016

A Department of Defense watchdog agency will begin auditing several Army healthcare facilities later this month to evaluate whether the military is properly safeguarding its personnel's medical data.

FDA Addresses Medical Device Cybersecurity Modifications

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 9, 2016

New Food and Drug Administration draft guidance aims to alleviate a common topic of confusion in the healthcare sector: whether medical device makers need to submit for FDA review product modifications affecting cybersecurity.

HIPAA Criminal Prosecutions on the Rise

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 8, 2016

A former Fla. hospital worker has been sentenced to federal prison in a case involving criminal HIPAA violations and tax fraud. Although the prosecution of HIPAA-related crimes are still rare, some experts say such cases could be on the rise.

Healthcare Hacker Attacks: No End In Sight

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 5, 2016

The recent cyberattack on Banner Health Care, which may have compromised information on as many as 3.7 million individuals, appears to be the largest healthcare data breach reported so far in 2016 - a year that's already seen a string of disturbing hacker attacks. Here's an overview of recent cyberattack trends.

Advocate Health Hit with Record $5.5 Million HIPAA Penalty

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 4, 2016

In the largest HIPAA settlement to date, federal regulators have smacked Chicago-based Advocate Health Care with a $5.5 million fine in the wake of an investigation into three 2013 breaches. The settlement is HHS's tenth HIPAA enforcement action this year.

Banner Health Breach Affects 3.7 Million

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 3, 2016

Arizona-based Banner Health, which operates 29 hospitals, says it's notifying 3.7 million individuals that their data was exposed in a "sophisticated cyberattack." An initial attack against payment card processing systems apparently opened the door to the attackers accessing healthcare data.

Analyzing the Global Cybersecurity Skills Shortage

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 3, 2016

A new survey shows 82 percent of organizations around the world are struggling with a shortage of staff with cybersecurity skills. Training expert Simone Petrella analyzes the survey results and spotlights the skills needed now to fight emerging cyber threats.