53515281_S
Voice assistants may pose hidden risks for physician practices.

Physicians have their hands full on the best of days. It’s not difficult to imagine why using a voice assistant such as Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri might be attractive.

In fact, a recent survey showed nearly one in four physicians uses the assistants for work-related purposes, such as researching prescription drug dosing. It’s likely many are unaware of the information security dangers they pose.

In an interview with SCG Health Blog, Fox Rothschild attorneys Elizabeth Litten and Michael Kline explain that the labor-saving devices pose a bevy of data privacy and security risks, and offer doctors six helpful tips for protecting their practices.

A number of employers in Illinois are involved in pending class action litigation regarding violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq. (the “BIPA”). The BIPA, which was enacted in 2008, addresses the collection, use and retention of biometric information by private entities. Any information that is captured, stored, or shared based on a person’s biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, iris scans, or blood type, is considered “biometric information.” The Illinois Legislature enacted the BIPA because biometric information is unlike any other unique identifier in that it can never be changed, even once it has been compromised.

The BIPA requires that, before a private entity can obtain and/or possess an individual’s biometric information, it must first inform the individual, or the individual’s legally authorized representative, in writing of the following: (1) that biometric information is being collected or stored; (2) the specific purpose for the collection, storage, and use of the biometric information; and (3) the length of time for the collection, storage, and use of the biometric information. Furthermore, before collecting any biometric information, the private entity must receive a written release for the collection of the biometric information from the individual or the individual’s legally authorized representative after the above notice has been given.

The BIPA additionally requires the private entity to develop a written policy that establishes a retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying biometric identifiers and biometric information. That policy must be made available to the public. The collected information must be destroyed once “the initial purpose for collecting or obtaining such information has been satisfied or within 3 years of the individual’s last interaction with the private entity, whichever occurs first.” 740 ILCS 14/15. In the pending cases, the private entity employers failed to obtain informed written consent prior to the collection, storage, and use of fingerprints and other biometric information. The employers also failed to publish any data retention and deletion policies for the biometric information.

The BIPA also restricts a private entity’s right to sell, lease, trade or otherwise profit from a person’s biometric identifier or biometric information. An employer who adheres to the requirements of the BIPA will be able to avoid class action litigation on this issue and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Digital
Copyright: argus456 / 123RF Stock Photo

The Federal Trade Commission is investing nearly $3 million in technology to support an increasing need for e-discovery driven by massive data breaches such as the one disclosed recently by Equifax.

The news comes from the National Law Journal, which reports that the FTC awarded a one-year contract to Innovative Discovery LLC of Arlington, Virginia for a secure litigation support service. The agency awarded the contract without competitive bids because it “faces usual and compelling circumstances that require the immediate initiation of this pilot,” the Law Journal reported.

“The FTC is entering into an unprecedented year of investigations and litigation, including its investigation into the Equifax data breach and an usually high number of forensic data acquisitions in fraud cases,” agency officials wrote. The contract, they added, “is essential to enabling the FTC to successfully conduct investigations and litigation to stop consumer harm, thus enabling the agency to accomplish its mission.”

On Tuesday, November 7th from 2:00 to 6:30, Fox Rothschild and Kroll will be presenting the CLE: Staying One Step Ahead: Developments in Privacy and Data.  The CLE will take place at Fox Rothschild’s offices at 353 N. Clark Street in Chicago.  The speakers are Bill Dixon from Kroll, and Dan Farris and Mark McCreary from Fox Rothschild.  Cocktails and networking will follow the presentations.

If you are in the Chicago are on November 7th, I hope you will join us.  Click here to register for this free event.

Data privacy and security

A new study notes that despite record spending on cybersecurity, overconfidence may be hurting companies’ ability to protect against data breaches.

Tech publication Information Week reports that the survey of IT professionals, by security firm Gemalto, showed that while 94 percent of respondents said their perimeter security was effective, nearly a third reported breaches within the last 12 months. Surprisingly, 14 percent said they would not trust their own organization to safeguard their personal data.

Why the disconnect? Experts interviewed by Information Week chalked it up to a lack of understanding of cybercrooks’ motivations, and a general lack of knowledge about cybersecurity in corporate C-suites. Click here to read the full story.

Phishing scams
Copyright: fberti / 123RF Stock Photo

For small and medium-sized businesses, the most dangerous cyberthreat may come from within.

IT industry publication TechRepublic reports that a newly released study by Keeper Security and the Ponemon Institute suggests careless employees are at fault for the majority of data breaches at small and mid-sized businesses. The study surveyed 1,000 information technology professionals in the United Kingdom and North America. Some 54 percent listed employee negligence as the root cause of cybersecurity incidents, followed by insufficient password policies.

A stunning 50 percent said they had suffered ransomware attacks in the past year. Of those, 79 percent said ransomware entered via a phishing or social engineering attack.

Click here for TechRepublic’s full coverage of the study.

Username and password login fields, online security
Equifax suffers major data breach affecting 143 million people.

It wasn’t a good week for credit reporting agency Equifax, which admitted to a major data breach affecting more than 143 million people.

Consumers’ data was exposed over three months via a vulnerability in a web application, the company said in a press release announcing the breach.

The breach was covered by every major news outlet, but Data Breach Today‘s Jeremy Kirk raises some interesting questions about Equifax’s notification strategy in this piece.

For the latest in breach response protocol in all 50 states, download Data Breach 411, a free app developed by Fox Rothschild’s Privacy & Data Security practice, available in the iTunes Store.

Elizabeth Litten (Fox Rothschild Partner and HIPAA Privacy & Security Officer) and Mark McCreary (Fox Rothschild Partner and Chief Privacy Officer) will be presenting at the New Jersey Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association on August 30, 2017, from 12:00-1:00 pm eastern time.  The presentation is titled: “Can’t Touch That: Best Practices for Health Care Workforce Training on Data Security and Information Privacy.”

This webinar is a comprehensive review of information privacy and data security training, with an emphasis on imparting practical know-how and a fluency with the terminology involving phishing, ransomware, malware and other common threats. We will cover best practices for sensitizing health care industry workers to these threats as part of their ongoing HIPAA compliance efforts and, more generally, for training workers in any business on the proper handling of sensitive data. We will cover the adoption of policies and a training regimen for the entire workforce, as well as tailored training for those in positions responsible for implementing security policies.

More information and a registration link can be found here.

Internet and technology
Copyright: hywards / 123RF Stock Photo

Cybercrooks’ preferred path to critical data is through privileged accounts, those held by users who have broad access and powers within the target’s network.

That’s according to a recent survey conducted by the cybersecurity firm Thycotic at the recent Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, reported Infosecurity Magazine.  About a third of respondents named privileged accounts the fastest and easiest path to critical data, while user email accounts were a close second at 27 percent.

Some 85 percent said human error, not inadequate security or unpatched software, was most to blame for security breaches.

Hackers’ biggest headaches? Multifactor authentication and encryption, according to the survey.

 

 

 

 

 

Shata Stucky writes:

Username and password login fields, online securityThe United States National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued new guidelines for creating secure passwords.  NIST guidelines, which are directed to “federal government systems,” often become best practice recommendations across the security industry.

The new guidelines are a significant break from previous rules.  Security experts previously recommended frequent password changes and using a mixture of upper case letters, symbols, and numbers.  The NIST guidelines acknowledge that users often work around these types of restrictions in a way that is counterproductive.  The most effective passwords are those that are easy for the user to remember so that it is less likely they will be written down or stored electronically in an unsafe manner.

Accordingly, NIST recommends dropping complexity requirements and requirements for frequent password changes.  Instead organizations should emphasize password length:  Passwords should be at least 8 characters in length, and users should be allowed a maximum length of at least 64 characters.

Additional recommendations can be found in the NIST guidelines, accessible on the NIST’s website.

Shata L. Stucky is an associate in the firm’s Privacy & Data Security practice, resident in its Seattle office.