HACKENSACK-BASED CANCER CARE PROVIDERS FINED OVER DATA SECURITY BREACHES - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Newswires
Topics
    • Life Insurance News
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Companies
    • Earnings
    • Video
    • Monthly Focus
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Articles
  • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider Pro
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Newswires
Newswires RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
December 31, 2021 Newswires No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

HACKENSACK-BASED CANCER CARE PROVIDERS FINED OVER DATA SECURITY BREACHES

Glen Rock Gazette (NJ)

Three Hackensack-based cancer care providers will pay the state $425,000 to settle allegations they exposed the personal health and financial information of more than 105,000 customers during a pair of data security breaches in 2019, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday.

Regional Cancer Care Associates, the umbrella name for three companies that run more than 30 locations in New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, will also adopt new privacy and security measures to further protect consumers' information, according to a statement from acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck.

"New Jerseyans battling cancer should never have to worry about whether their medical providers are properly securing and protecting their personal information from cyber threats," Bruck said. "We require health care providers to implement adequate security measures to protect patient data, and we will continue to hold accountable companies that fall short."

The first data breach happened between April and June of 2019, when a targeted phishing scheme compromised several employee email accounts and allowed scammers unauthorized access to patient data stored on those accounts, Bruck said.

The breach exposed driver's license numbers, health records, Social Security numbers and financial account and payment card information, the statement said.

In July, Regional Care was trying to notify clients of the initial breach when a third-party vendor improperly mailed notification letters intended for 13,047 living patients to their next of kin instead.

This told the family members about their relatives' illnesses without their consent, Bruck said.

The state said the company violated New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, because it failed to protect its clients' data, conduct accurate and thorough risk assessments, implement a security awareness training program for its workers and install the security measures to cut risk and vulnerabilities, among other things.

More than 80,000 New Jerseyans' information was revealed during the two incidents, Bruck said.

Regional Care disputes the allegations, the statement said. The company did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Still, it has agreed to new privacy and security measures that the state said will improve protection of consumers' information.

This includes maintaining an information security program that governs the collection, use and retention of patient data; developing a written incident response plan and cybersecurity operations center to respond to threats; hiring a chief information security officer; training new and existing employees in privacy and security policies; and contracting a third-party professional to assess its practices and policies for collecting, storing, maintaining and disposing of patient data, the statement said.

The company paid nearly $354,000 in fines, Bruck said. The other $71,000 covered attorneys' fees and investigative costs.

This is the third settlement the state's Division of Consumer Affairs has reached with private companies in recent months, the acting attorney general said.

In October, his office announced a settlement that required a fertility clinic to expand its data security measures and pay the state $495,000.

In November, the division reached a $130,000 settlement with two printing companies that worked with a leading managed health care organization.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @stevejanoski

Older

Steam Logistics taking Unum space until new Chattanooga headquarters ready in 2022 [Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.]

Newer

COVID-19’s Long Tail Is Causing Historic Economic Changes

Advisor News

  • Succession Planning: mentorship and strategic planning
  • Social Security overpaid billions to people. Now, it’s demanding the money back
  • Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to 22 federal financial fraud charges
  • Navigating the marketing rule: Lessons from recent SEC enforcement action
  • Layin' It on the Line: Social Security alone may not be enough to retire on
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Committee of Annuity Insurers Issues Public Comment to Treasury Dept.
  • Annuity sales up 27% through six months, LIMRA reports
  • Indexed annuity products set record of $25.1B in Q2, Wink finds
  • Features, taxation of individual annuities help middle-class Americans feel confident about retirement
  • Oklahoma Insurance Department adopts best interest annuity rule
Sponsor
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • 500K have Medicaid coverage restored after computer problem fixed
  • Healthcare2U introduces Direct Primary Care Advantage
  • A South Florida man invests $10 million in a local PPE business. What could go wrong?
  • Appeals court takes up transgender health coverage case
  • ProPublica investigation examines insurance claim appeals
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance News

  • Analysis shows decreasing mortality risks for Black, Hispanic life insurance applicants
  • U.S attorney alleges obstruction, seeks stiffer sentence for ‘Annuity King’
  • Unharness your business’s epic ascension with life settlement superhero power
  • NC regulators release $1.2B from former Lindberg insurers in receivership
  • Japan’s changing insurance industry can learn some lessons from the U.S. market
More Life Insurance News

- Presented By -

Top Read Stories

  • MAPFRE Insurance faces lawsuit for data breach
  • SEC cracks down on 9 firms for Marketing Rule violations
  • Low financial literacy may be costing consumers money
  • California legislators fall short on deal to stabilize P&C insurance market
  • U.S attorney alleges obstruction, seeks stiffer sentence for ‘Annuity King’
More Top Read Stories >

Press Releases

  • Senior Market Sales Adds EMG Insurance Brokerage to Growing Network of Health and Wealth Companies
  • Investors Preferred Life Insurance Company Names Nikki Pethtel as Its Next President
  • Insurity Celebrates its 15-Year Partnership with RCG Global Services, Marking a Legacy of Trust, Growth, and Digital Transformation
  • Sally Jewell Named Chair of Symetra Financial Corporation Board of Directors
  • TBX® and Ideon Team up to Transform Benefits Management Data Exchange
More Press Releases > Add Your Press Release >

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

Topics

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Companies
  • Earnings
  • Video
  • Monthly Focus
  • Sponsored Articles

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • INN Magazine

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2023 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your Insider Pro Account

Not registered? Become an Insider Pro.
Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet