February 22, 2018
NP Privacy Partner
Author(s): Michal E. Ovadia, Jena M. Grady
Cleaning crew mishap leads to potential data breach, OCR imposes penalties for HIPAA violations of a closed business and an Indiana court awards damages in one of the first lawsuits to successfully allege defamation based on a Facebook post. Here’s what’s trending in data privacy and cybersecurity.
This potential breach is a cautionary tale for those who handle protected health information on a daily basis. In recent years, there has been a strong focus on cybersecurity to safeguard confidential information stored electronically; however, it is equally important to ensure that hard copies of sensitive information are stored, shared and disposed of in a safe manner.—Michal Ovadia
On February 14, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that a receiver appointed to liquidate the assets of Filefax, Inc. agreed to pay $100,000 out of the receivership estate to OCR to settle possible violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.—Jena Grady
Earlier this month, a Small Claims Court in Indiana ordered a defendant to pay $6,000 in damages for defaming a plaintiff on Facebook.–Megan K. McGuire
The foregoing has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of the firm. It is not meant to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter and should not be acted upon without professional counsel. If you have any questions or require any further information regarding these or other related matters, please contact your regular Nixon Peabody LLP representative. This material may be considered advertising under certain rules of professional conduct.
