HIPAA Compliance Blog

Boring or Sexy, it's Data Security

8/9/2018

Data Security

There seems to be a boring side to Information security and an almost sexy side to data security. Don’t forget to change your password, backup your data, disaster recovery is the boring side. Ok these are interesting subjects, but talk to a client about countering international gangs of hackers and virus attacks and it’s exciting. Try to convince a manager to get everyone together regularly to develop a disaster recovery plan for medium size business and there’s very little excitement. The modern networks are much more complicated to secure today. The modern network architect has a lot to think about.

Cyber Security Planning

8/2/2018

Cyber Security planning levels

I recently went to the Cyber Security Awareness Conference, sponsored by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). In this conference, cyber security issues were covered. Some of the speakers included:

Tim Taylor – SBDC – Supervisor at SBDC
Peter Marchel – Marchel & Associates – A consulting practice focusing on cyber security
Frank Taylor – Leveteck – Data Migration specialist

The speakers were experts on domestic and international cyber security. This article discusses some of the levels of systems planning that would be a good idea for all businesses to conduct. To protect themselves from security breaches.

The Cloud Frees IT Hostages

7/26/2018

I recently spoke with a client who was considering going back to night school to study technology. He described how difficult life is being held hostage by his IT consulting company. I’m hearing this more and more often as I talk about cloud network architecture. Our clients are feeling like hostages to their technology and to their IT consultants. I think the modern network architect needs to understand how to build systems that enable not trap the business owner.

Edge Architecture - Securing Network

7/19/2018

We are all familiar with core business technologies. These are the technologies that keep the business running. Each department within a business will have a database of information that maintains the competitive advantage of the business. These are the core business systems. If these systems fail the competitive advantage of the company may be lost.

HHS HIPAA - Wall of Shame

8/5/2017

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was enacted on February 17, 2009. The purpose of the HITECH act was to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.

HIPAA Privacy Officer Job Description & Responsibilities

7/22/2017

Under HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) every practice or healthcare organization must designate a privacy officer. Assigning the Privacy officer becomes the first and most important step in becoming HIPAA compliant.

In this article, we discuss the role and responsibilities of a HIPAA Privacy Officer.

Clinic Hacking, is it Happening Now?

7/6/2017

If you own or work in a medical clinic it’s easy discount yet another warning about HIPAA and security compliance. From personal experience, I know that I get a little blasé’ myself. To confirm, I did some research about recent clinic hacking stories.

Cyber Security 101: The Basics

7/5/2017

While working as a network administrator during the day, I started teaching classes in the evenings at local community colleges because I didn’t want people who were new to technology to go through what I had experienced.

As a teacher, I found that the fastest way for my students to learn was to start with the basic principles. As a consultant, I found success in much the same way. With a few basic principles, management could start taking control of their technology.

What is the Value of Your Medical Records to Hackers?

7/3/2017

Most companies, non-profits and charities assume they can stay under the radar, when it comes to hacking. The assumption is that their organization is too small to be noticed or worth the effort.

There are too many big targets, so why bother with us?"

In this article, we discuss the value of a personal medical record in the dark back alleys of the world-wide web.

HIPAA Compliance: The Team

6/19/2017

The compliant HIPAA organization, is it a myth or a reality? In this article, I wanted to cover, at a high level, what you need to know if you manage or own a medical facility. As of December of 2016, there have been over 150,500 HIPAA complaints against medical facilities in the US.

With each complaint there are typically a multitude of other violations and patients who are unhappy because they believe regulations were not followed.

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