ID Experts | Blog

Big Data Increases Breach Risk

2013-05-20T18:29:39Z

Our existence as a consumer society has led us to our current big data reality. Everything about us is compiled, categorized, sorted, analyzed, often with our permission, though the knowledge of what we’re doing has largely been hidden in the fine print, if shared at all. In exchange for dense digital dossiers of our lives, we often get a coupon or an offer, matched just for us, from the logs maintained about our lives. And this is just the mild form of big data’s usage.

Senior Identity Theft: A Problem In This Day and Age

2013-05-16T15:46:56Z

The May 7^th Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Senior Identity Theft: A Problem in This Day and Age panelists related that seniors are often preferred targets, especially for medical identity theft. Fraudsters, who may include unscrupulous relatives and/or caregivers, view these individuals as more trusting, less financially sophisticated and less likely to report the crime because they fear family members may think they cannot maintain their independence.[1] Panel members discussed the many still unanswered questions regarding how to prevent tax and government benefits fraud, medical identity theft, and identity theft in long-term care, and how to reach older consumers.

Breach Notification Laws: An Evolving Mine Field

2013-05-15T15:42:29Z

In 2012 there were a number of states, which made changes to their breach laws including Connecticut, Texas and Vermont. The most noteworthy was Texas' House Bill 300, which amended the state's existing data breach law effective September 1, 2012, requiring covered entities in Texas to notify affected individuals regardless of their state of residency. This is ground breaking because it is the first time that a state has expanded the reach of its obligations beyond its own borders by basically saying that the obligations of a breached entity that does business in the state does not stop at the borders of the state but it follows the affected patients where ever they may reside.

HCCA 2013 - The Year of the Security Risk Analysis

2013-05-13T17:56:53Z

It is with great pleasure that I write this recap of the HCCA Annual Conference and Tradeshow. The event was held outside of Washington DC on April 21-24, and ID Experts was one of hundreds organizations represented in the tradeshow. I can honestly say that this was one of the most fun, productive, and energized events we have ever done.

Patient Identity Infection—A Multi-Faceted Risk Facing Patients

2013-05-07T21:48:09Z

At ID Experts we have been helping identity theft victims and patients protect and restore their identities for over a decade. It is our mission after all. It shapes our company culture and values. We know very well that identity theft and medical identity theft are growing problems. So what are the risks to patients’ identity in the healthcare setting and how to we protect against these risks? We know intuitively that prevention is the best medicine but how can we truly prevent a problem with so many root causes—some intentional but most unintentional?

Big Data Will Turn Privacy Upside Down

2013-05-07T21:13:05Z

Privacy scholars and practitioners the world over have now noted that the current regulation of privacy simply does not work well in a big data world.[1] Thus to the extent that they are openly welcoming or at least acknowledging the inevitability of such a world, many of them (us) are beginning to seek new approaches. Among the major concerns regarding the application of current privacy law to big data are the following:

How to inform internal teams of a data breach

2013-05-06T16:25:03Z

What is the best way to tell your internal teams that your company has had a data breach? A data breach isn't unlike any other public relations debacle. Like any crisis that needs a public relations strategy and a game plan, it needs to be well thought out and executed with finesse. Unfortunately during all this, your company faces reputational harm, deadlines, and client, consumer, and media backlash.

FTC Workshop to Highlight Senior Identity Theft

2013-05-01T16:04:58Z

Medical identity theft is the latest threat to affect patients—especially senior citizens. Although medical identity theft can make a victim of anyone who seeks healthcare, there are factors that can increase a person’s likelihood of becoming a victim of medical identity theft. One is age. Simply being a senior citizen can elevate a person’s chances of falling prey to this crime.

Do you really need security to attest to meaningful use?

2013-04-29T23:28:01Z

CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) has begun auditing participants in the federally funded electronic health record (EHR) incentive payment program that makes funding available to hospitals and other healthcare organizations who can demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR systems. And while one of the meaningful use criteria is that the organization carry out a HIPAA security risk analysis, the initial audits have found that one of the two most common adverse findings is non-compliance with the requirement to conduct a security risk analysis.

ID Experts doing its part for the Wounded Warrior

2013-04-22T20:01:23Z

Part of ID Experts' core mission is to give back to its' community, not just in the Portland, Oregon area (our home town), but on the national stage. All of us made a conscious effort to find the right organization to get involved with about a year and a half ago. Unanimously, we chose the Wounded Warrior Project.

Why does a victim of a data breach benefit from having a Recovery Solution?

2013-04-18T16:42:51Z

Someone once explained recovery solutions with the analogy of repairing your car. Yes, you could probably put in your own engine or reattach your own bumper, but would you want to? With the time it takes to get the parts, educate yourself, acquire the tools needed, it could be days to weeks to even months before you attempt, let alone finish the task at hand. Recovery solutions are the same idea. Yes, you could contact the Social Security Administration, the IRS, the credit bureaus, the creditors, etc., but the amount of time and energy it takes is very daunting.

Analytics May Reduce PHI Exposure Risk in a Healthcare Data Breach

2013-04-16T16:01:29Z

Ponemon’s Third Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security reported that most healthcare organizations have experienced a breach–94% of healthcare organizations in the study have had a data breach in the past two years, and 45% have experienced more than 5 data breaches. In many cases, digital forensics is used to identify the reasons for a breach. Lesser known is the importance of forensics in determining the extent to which PII / PHI is exposed and the number of affected individuals.

The Doctor Can See You Now - Mobile Threats and How Healthcare can Reduce Risks

2013-04-15T16:19:34Z

One of the significant new trends in the use of technology in healthcare comes from doctors and patients using smartphones and other mobile devices like tablets . The technology helps improve the quality and lower the cost of healthcare delivery. The most recent third annual Ponemon study on patient privacy and data security found that 81% of the healthcare organizations surveyed permitted employees to use their own mobile devices at work. There are many apparent benefits, some I can think of are:

It’s all about the patients

2013-04-03T14:54:00Z

By now you've heard about the great success of the recent Protected Health Information (PHI) Protection Network's first conference in Boston.

Cyber Liability Insurance at the State Government level

2013-04-02T16:30:42Z

I read an interesting article recently on Cyber Insurance within the public sector titled "Are Governments Ready to be Buyers of Cybersecurity Insurance". There were two main points that stood out to me and a surprise as well.