Kroll Fraud Solutions Blog – A Dialogue on Data Security

This month, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced that his office reached a settlement with health insurance company Health Net over their breach of sensitive patient data. The agreement resolves allegations that Health Net violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as well as state privacy protections. The Health Net breach dates back to May 2009, when the company lost a disk drive with PII and PHI for some 2 million patients. The company took more than what Blumenthal considered a reasonable amount of time to report the missing disk and notify affected individuals. Blumenthal alleged that the company delayed and otherwise failed to properly inform the state governing authorities.

Ten tips for fax safety

As we discussed in the last two posts in this series, you can see how even mundane office equipment can pose a serious security risk. Part of the security battle here is simply understanding the issue, because the technology already exists to help you erase your fax or copier hard drive. So, are you safeguarding against what amounts to pure error?

As it turns out, there are several steps you and your staff can take to reduce the risk of misdirected faxes: