A New Approach to an Old Problem Resistance to yet another government regulation, a lack of understanding the complexities of the rules, and an overall unwillingness to take on yet another area of expertise in an ever-changing technical landscape can make the sale of HIPAA compliance a tough one. Gone are the days of using Meaningful...
HIPAA – Then & Now The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, has been around since 1996, with the intent to protect patients by properly handling their protected health information (PHI). With good intentions, HIPAA set forth to provide both security provisions and data privacy. The legislation was passed in the...
Live and Learn Most situations teach us lessons so that we don’t repeat damaging behaviors. For example, if you touch a hot stove, you know to pause and make sure it’s off before doing it again. If you run out of gas on a highway, on future drives, you’ll be on the lookout for a...
There is a rise in awareness with small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) of the threat to their cybersecurity. The problem is, it causes a subsequent rise in a risk factor to Managed Service Providers (MSPs). That risk is of them losing their business. According to a recent report conducted by Continuum and Vanson Bourne, “Underserved...
The Excuses It’s not easy! It’s a lot to keep track of. I have no idea where I’ve used that before. There’s nothing in there that anyone would want. You want me to go back and change ALL of my accounts? These are all responses when a user is told that their passwords need changed...
Filing and Smiling When is the last time that you filed a piece of paper? It used to be that a file cabinet was like your personal bank vault – holding the papers that defined and valued a business. From employee records to bank statements, that file cabinet had everything necessary to keep things humming...
Can I Get Some Privacy in Here? If you’re talking about your online data, probably not. While businesses can create policies and procedures that limit the exposure of your private data, those lines are often blurred between professional and personal information. As a result of this, at least 25 states have laws that address the...
What happens if your computer systems are hacked with ransomware? I think I’m covered by my insurance policy for that…(pause)…you scramble and try to find your policy documentation. It’s here somewhere. I’m sure I’m covered…I mean, I think we’re covered. I better make sure. You email your insurance agent…wait for the declaration page. Try to sort it...
The Ethics of Hacking In 2013 the then National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander spoke at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference about acknowledging, and protecting, ethical hackers. He discussed how through surveillance, these individuals would be uncovered, but also shielded, from legal jeopardy. Black Hat is a computer conference that focuses on security consulting, training, and...
This week I saw a story link come across my newsfeed to “make sure you get your money from Experian” – it was referring to the compensation being offered as a result of their breach. You could either opt-in for credit monitoring or take the $125 payout. Regardless of what choice you made if you...