Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Jury Dishes Out Guilty Verdict in Mango Markets Fraud Case

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 18, 2024

A New York federal jury has found a hacker guilty of charges that he masterminded and carried out a scheme to fraudulently obtain $110 million in cryptocurrency from crypto currency exchange Mango Markets and investors.

Company Says Change Healthcare Hackers Stole Sensitive Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 18, 2024

UnitedHealthGroup said for the first time that hackers behind a February ransomware attack against Change Healthcare breached sensitive health information, an admission that triggers a regulatory countdown clock for public disclosures and individual notification.

Why Health Firms Struggle with Cybersecurity Frameworks

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 18, 2024

Healthcare sector organizations often still struggle to implement security frameworks effectively, often not fully understanding the requirements or failing to integrate them into their overall cybersecurity strategy, said Keith Forrester of security firm Optiv, who offers tips to help.

Hack on Clinic Serving Homeless Is Latest Hit to Underserved

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 17, 2024

Michigan's largest federally qualified health center, which treats homeless and underserved patients, is notifying more than 184,000 individuals of a December ransomware attack that compromised their data. The incident reflects the many challenges that under-resourced healthcare groups face.

Congress Asks What Went Wrong in Change Healthcare Attack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 16, 2024

The aftershocks of the Change Healthcare cyberattack are still reverberating through the healthcare sector nearly 60 days into the recovery process. But on Tuesday, members of Congress and industry experts grappled with how to avoid a future replay - minus a key witness: UnitedHealth Group.

FTC Bans Online Mental Health Firm From Sharing Certain Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 15, 2024

The FTC has proposed restricting a mental telehealth service firm from sharing consumer data and requiring it to pay a $7 million penalty to settle allegations that the firm used online tracking tools to unlawfully disclose sensitive health information to third-party advertisers without consent.

Law Firm to Pay $8M to Settle Health Data Hack Lawsuit

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 15, 2024

A global law firm that provides data breach legal services has agreed to an $8 million settlement to resolve a proposed class action lawsuit filed against the firm in the aftermath of its cyberattack last year, which affected some health sector clients and nearly 638,000 individuals.

American Privacy Rights Bill: Implications for Health Sector

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 12, 2024

The proposed bipartisan, bicameral American Privacy Rights Act poses a variety of potential implications to the healthcare sector and other groups that handle health-related data - if the legislation gains traction in Congress and actually gets signed into law, legal experts say.

Change Healthcare Attack 'Devastating' to Doc Practices

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 11, 2024

The IT services disruptions resulting from the Change Healthcare cyberattack is continuing to have a "devastating" effect on physician practices, threatening the financial viability of many and posing serious implications to patient care, said the American Medical Association in a new study.

Nearly 534,000 Affected in Data Theft at Managed Care Org

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 10, 2024

A Wisconsin nonprofit managed care organization is notifying nearly 534,000 individuals that their protected health information was copied and stolen in a recent attack by a "foreign ransomware gang" that also attempted - but failed - to encrypt the group's IT systems.

Firm Says Medicare Info Obtained From DOJ Breached in Attack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 9, 2024

A cyberattack on a Boston-based consulting firm that provides litigation support services to the U.S. Department of Justice in its investigations has potentially compromised Medicare numbers and other health insurance and medical information of nearly 342,000 individuals.

Evolving Threats Facing Robotic and Other Medical Gear

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 9, 2024

Robotic medical devices, such as surgical gear, offer great potential to improve patient care, but the cyber risks associated with these products must be carefully addressed, said Kevin Fu, director of the Archimedes Center for Health Care and Medical Device Cybersecurity at Northeastern University.

A Second Gang Shakes Down UnitedHealth Group for Ransom

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 8, 2024

A second cybercriminal gang - RansomHub - is trying to shake down Change Healthcare's parent company, UnitedHealth Group, and have it pay another ransom for data that an affiliate of ransomware-as-a-service group BlackCat claims to have stolen in February. Is this the latest ruse in a messy attack?

Change Healthcare Attack: Recovery Woes; Lawsuits Pile Up

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 5, 2024

As recovery from its Feb. 21 cyberattack continues, Change Healthcare and its parent company UnitedHealth Group are facing a growing pile of lawsuits, while health sector entities affected by the IT services disruption are dealing with a mounting stack of bills and other paperwork to catch up on.

Medical Device Cyberthreat Modeling: Top Considerations

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  April 5, 2024

Besides not doing cyberthreat modeling at all, some the biggest mistakes medical device manufacturers can make are starting the modeling process too late in the development phase or using it simply as a "paper weight exercise," said threat modeling expert Adam Shostack of Shostack & Associates.