Data classification is essential for achieving, maintaining and proving compliance with a wide range of regulations and standards. For example, PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX and GDPR all have different purposes and requirements, but data classification is necessary for compliance with all of them — after all, you need to accurately identify and tag health records, cardholder information, financial documents and other regulated data in order to protect that data appropriately.
The healthcare sector stands at a crossroads where innovation and technology are drastically reshaping patient care, yet simultaneously, it faces the increasing challenge of protecting sensitive patient data. As healthcare organizations adopt advanced technologies like electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and AI-driven diagnostics, the need for robust cybersecurity measures becomes paramount.
Digital startup PostMeds Inc., operating as TruePill, is an online pharmacy service based in California. The company allows patients to compare copay pricing, get status notifications on pill orders, and request refills. However, all this may change soon; at the end of October, TruePill endured a severe data breach, landing them in hot water with patients and courts.
Perry Johnson & Associates (PJ&A) is a medical transcription service assisting providers like Cook County Health and Northwell Health. In mid-October, Chicago’s Cook County Health announced a data breach from PJ&A with a limited impact figure. However, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) has confirmed a more significant number than PJ&A initially determined.
Stanford Health Care Alliance encompasses children’s hospitals, care plans, medicine partners, scholars, and the Stanford University faculty. The breach allegedly includes information from Stanford Health Care, Stanford Tri-Valley, Stanford Medicine Partners, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and Packard Children’s Health Alliance.
McLaren Health Care is a network of 13 hospitals and three clinics serving the residents of north and central Michigan. They care for more than 732k lives by providing various services and network solutions, including a national cancer institute. Around August 2023, McLaren suffered a cyberattack—exposing the data of 2.2 million people.