Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Device Maker Zoll Facing 7 Lawsuits in Wake of Breach

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 24, 2023

Medical device maker Zoll Medical is facing at least seven proposed class action lawsuits filed since it revealed two weeks ago that the data of 1 million individuals had been caught up in a hacking incident involving the company's internal network.

Report: Threat Landscape Growing Scarier for Healthcare

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 23, 2023

Threats that traditionally menaced other industries - including synthetic accounts and abuse of IT product platforms - are emerging worries for the healthcare sector, warns an industry report. Other experts also predict a similar evolution among criminal activities affecting the healthcare sector.

DC Health Link Facing Lawsuits in Hack Affecting Congress

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 22, 2023

The DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority - the online health insurance marketplace servicing Washington, D.C., residents and congressional staff - is facing two proposed class action lawsuits in the aftermath of a hack that affected more than 56,400 individuals, including members of Congress.

NYC Special Needs Students' Records Found Exposed on Web

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 21, 2023

Nearly 50,000 documents containing personal information of special education students who live in New York City and attend public school there were recently found exposed on the internet in an unsecured database. Some of those records date back to 2018.

Lawsuit Against Clinic Seeks Long List of Cyber Improvements

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 20, 2023

An Alabama cardiovascular clinic is facing a proposed class action lawsuit filed by one of the nearly 442,000 individuals affected by a data exfiltration breach reported last month. The lawsuit seeks a detailed list of security improvements by the clinic and 10 years of court compliance monitoring.

What the FTC Is Signaling in Recent Data Privacy Cases

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 17, 2023

The Federal Trade Commission's recent actions against two companies in separate health data privacy cases are significant developments signaling the FTC's "aggressive push" to enforce violations involving disclosures of consumer health data to third parties, said attorney Kirk Nahra of WilmerHale.

Healthcare Leaders Call for Cybersecurity Standards

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 16, 2023

Healthcare executives called on Congress to ensure minimum cybersecurity standards, saying a wholly voluntary approach is failing clinics and hospitals. Gaps are widest at small rural hospitals, testified a former hospital CISO before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Long-Term Care Services Firm Says Breach Affects 4.2 Million

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 15, 2023

A vendor of clinical and third-party administrative services to managed care organizations and healthcare providers serving elderly and disabled patients said a cybersecurity incident last summer has affected more than 4.2 million individuals.

Feds Fine Web Hosting Firm in Kids Insurance Site Hack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 14, 2023

A Florida company will pay nearly $300,000 to settle allegations stemming from a 2020 hacking incident that revealed the personal identifying information of hundreds of thousands of minors. The settlement with Jelly Bean Communications Design is part of a federal crackdown on lax cybersecurity.

Breast Cancer Patients Sue Over Breached Exam Photos, Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 14, 2023

A cancer patient whose partially naked exam photos and personal data were stolen and subsequently posted on a ransomware leak site last month filed a proposed class action lawsuit, alleging that Lehigh Valley Health Network's refusal to pay the ransom "prioritized money over patient privacy."

Heart Device Maker Says Hack Affected 1 Million Patients

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 13, 2023

Emergency medical device provider Zoll Medical Corp. is notifying more than 1 million individuals, including employees, as well as patients and former patients who used its LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator, of a hacking incident that compromised their personal information.

Not-So-Cerebral Sharing of Mental Health Data Hits Millions

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 10, 2023

A provider of online mental health services is notifying nearly 3.2 million people that the company used website tracking tools to share sensitive patient information with third parties including Facebook, Google and TikTok - without the individuals' consent.

HHS OCR Asks Congress for Big Funding Boost

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 10, 2023

President Joe Biden's budget request for fiscal 2024 includes a big proposed boost for the federal office charged with enforcing privacy and security within the healthcare industry. The proposal asks for $78 million in appropriations for the Office of Civil Rights.

CHS to Notify 1 Million in Breach Linked to Software Flaw

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 9, 2023

Community Health Systems will soon begin notifying up to 1 million individuals estimated to have been affected by data compromise when attackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability in vendor Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT, which is secure managed file transfer software.

Vendor Faces Lawsuit in Wake of an Apparent 'Royal' Attack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  March 9, 2023

A healthcare revenue cycle management software vendor is facing a proposed class action lawsuit in the aftermath of a December data exfiltration attack affecting nearly 251,000 patients. Ransomware group Royal took credit for the attack, allegedly leaking samples of the stolen data on its leak site.