Stolen laptops mean $2M in mega fines

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/stolen-laptops-mean-2m-mega-fines

By Mike Miliard
Managing Editor
Healthcare IT News
April 23, 2014

Serving notice that "covered entities and business associates must 
understand that mobile device security is their obligation," the HHS 
Office for Civil Rights has settled with two organizations for a combined 
$1,975,220 penalty after their unencrypted computers were stolen.

That's a big number. And that's because it's meant to drive home the point 
that unencrypted laptops and mobile devices pose significant risks to the 
security of patient information, said Susan McAndrew, OCR’s deputy 
director of health information privacy.

"Our message to these organizations is simple: Encryption is your best 
defense against these incidents," she said.

The biggest of the two settlements was levied against Concentra Health 
Services, after OCR opened an investigation following a breach report that 
an unencrypted laptop was stolen from one of its facilities, the 
Springfield Missouri Physical Therapy Center.

[...]

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