Diagnosing the Ransomware “Problem” [Updated for 2023]
Day after day, new stories of ransomware shutting down companies and governments fill our news cycle and often end with million-dollar ransoms being paid to cybercriminals. The threat of ransomware can feel overwhelming. How should business owners keep this terrible problem from attacking them? What if the answer to that question was to stop focusing […]
St. Louis IT Leaders Speak On Cybersecurity
IT for business can be confusing, frustrating, and costly. Are you worried you’re wasting resources on the wrong cybersecurity measures? If you find yourself second-guessing IT solutions for your business or are unsure what to prioritize, download our ebook Waging War: What St. Louis Experts Say About Cybercrime. We talked to four local IT experts […]
Brush Up on Your HIPAA Training
By HIPAA Privacy Officer Shana Scott Does anyone like talking about HIPAA? That’s a rhetorical question, as I’m sure there’s someone out there who does. While HIPAA isn’t exactly fun, it is necessary for any HIPAA-regulated industries and the vendors who service them. During our company’s annual HIPAA compliance training, I was struck by just […]
HIPAA Part 7: Getting Started
We’ve come to the end of our HIPAA series, and if you’ve been following along, you might feel overwhelmed by the prospect of becoming HIPAA compliant. There’s a lot to do if you’re just starting out. Keep in mind that by creating a culture of compliance, it becomes easier to verify that you’re following the […]
HIPAA Part 6: Plan for the Worst
No one likes to think they’ll suffer a disaster, a ransomware attack, or a data breach, but hope isn’t enough to satisfy HIPAA. The question is no longer if something will happen, but when. HIPAA expects you to plan, prepare, test, and be ready for anything that could disrupt the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of […]
HIPAA Part 5: The Cycle of Risk
In part 4 of our HIPAA series, we dug deep into the Security Risk Analysis (SRA) and how to perform one. This time, we’re going to look at what to do with the SRA once it’s completed. The SRA serves as a starting point for fulfilling many of the standards of the Security Rule, but […]
HIPAA Part 4: Risky Business
No matter the size of your practice, compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule is a serious undertaking. In order to fix a problem, you must first know it exists. That’s why the Risk Analysis and Risk Management implementation specifications are the foundation of your security compliance efforts. We touched on risk management in Part 2 […]
HIPAA Part 3: Document! Document! Document!
As you read through the Privacy and Security Rules for HIPAA, you’ll see a pattern that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Nearly all the implementation specifications require some form of policy and procedure documentation. This involves more than the reasoning and justification for how you choose to implement the specifications (though that must be documented […]
Hardware Firewalls Strengthen Cyber Security Protection [Updated for 2018]
Does your organization or small business have a firewall? The answer is “yes,” right? If you use the internet, you’ve got to have a firewall! Don’t computers come with them? Our 2017 audit of St. Louis small businesses found that, while most of the businesses and organizations we surveyed did in fact have a hardware […]
HIPAA Part 2: Diving Deep into the Security Rule
In our first HIPAA article, we offered a little history on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and a general overview of how the Privacy and Security Rules evolved from it. In this post, we’re going deep into the murky depths of the Security Rule from a business standpoint. HIPAA’s Security Rule may seem […]
