Technical Safeguards for Cybersecurity

April 10, 2020

HIPAA has been around for quite a while – since 1996, in fact – and part of HIPAA law has always included required safeguards to secure all aspects of a medical practice’s protected information. With the rapid adoption of technology within the healthcare industry, technical safeguards included in HIPAA law are some of the most important for practices of all sizes to implement. Technology has enabled businesses in the healthcare industry to move operations offsite. In light of the current public health emergency, allowing for access to all essential data without having to step foot into the office is vital to ensuring practices are ready to see patients after the social distancing rules are relaxed. While these advancements simplify and enhance your business operations, they have made a hacker’s job that much easier as well.

Technical safeguards are the documented strategies and solutions that practices implement to secure electronic protected health information and control access to it. These include:

The policies and procedures allowing for only authorized access to PHI
Implementing any special hardware or software to protect PHI
The ability to trace system activity to a specific user accessing PHI
Policies and procedures to ensure that PHI will not be altered or disposed of improperly

When it comes to the question of which data actually needs to be safeguarded, the answer is pretty much all of it. Any data that is accessed by, sent to or received from other practices or authorized vendors need to be protected as well as any data that has traceable identification that can be linked to a patient. This sensitive data must be encrypted prior to sending or receiving. Encrypting data may seem like a daunting task, but at a basic level, it just means making PHI unreadable to anyone other than the intended parties.

Recent Cyber Threats Tied to COVID-19

While ensuring your practice is prepared for a cyber attack is always important, cyber threats have been headlining the news a lot lately along with the current COVID-19 health emergency. Hackers are taking advantage of this time of increased public vulnerability as well as increased use of technology from unsecured networks while many people are working from home. Read up on common tactics utilized in these threats in our recent article.

Over the past few weeks, including just yesterday, multiple government agencies have issued warnings regarding recent threats to cybersecurity. These attacks range from individuals posing as government officials seeking access to PHI to other various phishing and malware distribution schemes utilizing the current concern and fear around COVID-19 as hackers ticket into your sensitive data. Further guidance can be found in the public service announcement released by the FBI and yesterday’s bulletin from the CISA.

Hackers aren’t just attempting to play the roles of OCR investigators, or focusing on sending you phishing emails – now your video-teleconferences are at risk too. Video chat apps have become increasingly popular whether it’s for telehealth appointments, office meetings, , or even just virtual happy hours with friends – it’s the best way to stay connected during this time of social distancing. Unfortunately, this added reliance on technology is just another way for scammers to attack. The FBI released additional guidance on defending against Video-teleconferencing (VTC) hijacking and “Zoom-bombing” which refers to attacks directly on the increasingly popular Zoom platform. Some noteworthy tips from this guidance include making sure your virtual meetings are private by requiring a password to gain access. Keeping these meetings private means keeping them off social media or other public-facing platforms so only provide meeting links directly to the individuals you want to be included.

These attacks on video chatting software are especially important for medical practices to be aware of as just a few weeks ago the OCR updated their telehealth service regulations allowing doctors to use various communication apps to diagnose and treat patients while maintaining a safe distance.

Practicing Good Cyber Hygiene

When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s important to know what to look out for, how to report any potential threats, and most importantly how to keep your practice and your patient data safe. Just yesterday, CISA, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued a joint release featuring additional guidance on how to spot potential threats. Important tips for safeguarding your practice’s security during this time of increased risk include:

Make it harder for attackers to gain access to your users.
Know how to identify and report any suspected threats.
Protect your organization from the effects of undetected scams
Respond quickly and effectively to any incidents that do occur

There’s a lot of good ‘cyber hygiene’ out there, but here are a few top tips to keep your practice operations clean:

Secure systems that enable remote access
Ensure that employees have updated all anti-malware and antivirus software on their devices
Encrypt any emails that include PHI or any other personal or financial information
Properly dispose of any PHI both electronic and paper when working off-site
Remind employees of appropriate access to PHI and implement controls such as applying additional protections for COVID-19 health records
Ensure that PHI is only accessed when necessary, especially on less secure wireless networks such as those used when working from home

If you have questions about technical safeguard requirements, Abyde has a team of HIPAA compliance experts ready and willing to help navigate your practice through these recent changes. If your practice is interested in learning more, sign up for one of our complimentary HIPAA compliance webinars where we’ll discuss HIPAA & COVID-19 from the comfort of your current remote work location.

RECENT POSTS

October 24, 2024 There has been a flurry of HIPAA fines in the past few weeks, with over half a million dollars levied in the last month. Just one example is Gums Dental Care, LLC, a small dental practice in Maryland that was fined for a Right of Access violation. Right of Access violations, which involve failing to provide medical records in a timely manner, are a common HIPAA mistake. Another violation for this was issued in August. What Happened? A patient requested her medical records from Gums Dental on April 8, 2019. After not receiving them, she issued a complaint to the OCR in May 2019. The OCR contacted Gums Dental Care for technical assistance and believed the case was over. This was just the beginning. This case spanned years, with a second complaint filed in August 2019 and the OCR sending several data requests through letters and calls to Gums Dental. On October 1, 2020, the OCR sent Gums Dental a proposed resolution agreement and corrective action plan. At the end of the month, Dr. Gums wanted to present her case in front of a judge, believing the patient would commit Medicaid fraud with her records. She also said that the complainant didn’t pay a $25 administrative fee to release the medical records through mail. First, patients should always have access to their medical records, regardless of their reasons. Second, the fee would be waived if the patient requested it digitally, not through mail. In December 2020, the OCR issued a Letter of Opportunity to Gums Dental. At the beginning of the next year, Dr. Gums once again justified her refusal to provide the records since she believed her patient would commit a crime with them. She also believed her website wasn’t secure enough to send them digitally. However, Gums Dental didn’t attempt to send the records at all. By the time the Notice of Proposed Determination was sent in March 2022, roughly three years after the first medical record request, Gums Dental faced a Civil Monetary Penalty fine as high as $7,676,692. However, the OCR ultimately levied a $70,000 fine, recognizing the smaller size of the dental practice. How to Protect Your Practice Common HIPAA fines often involve Right of Access violations. At the federal level, practices are required to provide patients with their medical records within 30 days, and some states have an even shorter timeline. Navigating these unique regulations can be challenging, so having an intelligent solution is crucial. Smart software can streamline compliance for your practice by generating policies and procedures tailored to your needs. These solutions also include access to a team of compliance experts who can help answer your questions and ensure that you are interacting with patients in a HIPAA-compliant manner. To learn more about software solutions, with a compliance expert here.