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OCR settles a ransomware investigation that affected over 14,000 individuals
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced a settlement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) with Green Ridge Behavioral Health, LLC, a Maryland-based practice that provides psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and psychotherapy. OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, which sets forth the requirements that HIPAA covered entities (most health care providers, health plans, and health care clearinghouses) and their business associates must follow to protect the privacy and security of protected health information. The settlement resolves an investigation following a ransomware attack that affected the protected health information of more than 14,000 individuals. Ransomware is a type of malware (malicious software) designed to deny access to a user’s data, usually by encrypting the data with a key known only to the hacker who deployed the malware, until a ransom is paid. This marks the second settlement that OCR has reached with a HIPAA regulated entity for potential violations identified during an investigation following a ransomware attack.
“Ransomware is growing to be one of the most common cyber-attacks and leaves patients extremely vulnerable,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. “These attacks cause distress for patients who will not have access to their medical records, therefore they may not be able to make the most accurate decisions concerning their health and well-being. Health care providers need to understand the seriousness of these attacks and must have practices in place to ensure patients’ protected health information is not subjected to cyber-attacks such as ransomware.”
In February 2019, Green Ridge Behavioral Health filed a breach report with OCR stating that its network server had been infected with ransomware resulting in the encryption of company files and the electronic health records of all patients. OCR’s investigation found evidence of potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules leading up to and at the time of the breach. Other findings included that Green Ridge Behavioral Health failed to:
Under the terms of the settlement, Green Ridge Behavioral Health agreed to pay $40,000 and implement a corrective action plan that will be monitored by OCR for three years. The plan identifies steps that Green Ridge Behavioral Health will take to resolve potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules and to protect electronic protected health information, including:
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Ransomware and hacking are the primary cyber-threats in health care. Over the past five years, there has been a 256% increase in large breaches reported to OCR involving hacking and a 264% increase in ransomware. In 2023, hacking accounted for 79% of the large breaches reported to OCR. The large breaches reported in 2023 affected over 134 million individuals, a 141% increase from 2022.
OCR recommends health care providers, health plans, clearinghouses, and business associates that are covered by HIPAA take the following best practices to mitigate or prevent cyber-threats:
The resolution agreement and corrective action plan may be found at: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/green-ridge-behavioral-health-ra-cap/index.html
The HHS Breach Portal: Notice to the Secretary of HHS Breach of Unsecured Protected Health Information may be found at: https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf
If you believe that your or another person’s health information privacy or civil rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with OCR at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/index.html
HHS has developed guidance to help covered entities and business associates better understand and respond to the threat of ransomware. The fact sheet may be found here: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/RansomwareFactSheet.pdf?language=es
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