Tag Archive for: florida

Florida patients among victims of spate of data hacking

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TAMPA — A criminal group now being pursued by the FBI had access to Tampa General Hospital’s computer system for three weeks.

Its attempt to encrypt and ransom the hospital’s data — which could have significantly impeded care of patients — was thwarted by internal security measures. Nonetheless, hackers were still able to download personal data on 1.2 million patients.

The crime is among a spate of recent data breaches affecting Florida patients. HCA Healthcare in July reported that an unauthorized user stole data on about 11 million patients in 20 states, including Florida, and posted it on an online forum. And this week, Johns Hopkins Health System, which runs All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, reported the theft of personal information on 310,000 patients, including almost 10,000 from Florida.

Nationwide, more than 50 million patient records were compromised in 2022, according to analysis by cybersecurity firm Critical Insight. The records of more than 3.4 million Florida patient have been compromised this year and 36 data breaches are still under investigation, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, suggesting that health care firms will continue to remain a favorite target of hackers.

The health care sector is perceived as being more vulnerable than those in the finance, defense or aerospace sectors, said Joe Partlow, chief technology officer at ReliaQuest, a firm that provides computer security guidance to banks, utility companies and health care providers among others. Finance firms tend to invest more in security measures, in part because of regulations, he said. Health data also typically includes Social Security numbers and insurance details prized by hackers.

”They are a good target,” he said. “They know it’s a good trove of personal data.”

The damage is not just to patient confidentiality. The average cost of a health care breach rose to $11 million this year, a 53% increase since 2020, according to an IBM report.

Phishing emails that entice employees to enter log-ons and passwords are still the primary means used by hackers to gain access to computer systems, Partlow said.

Once they have broken in, one tactic is…

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Major Florida hospital hit by a possible ransomware attack

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A major hospital system in northern Florida said Friday it is diverting some emergency room patients and canceling surgeries after a security problem with information technology.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said the issue began affecting its systems late Thursday night and has forced the hospital to shut down its IT network.

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It had the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, but the hospital has not yet characterized it as such, instead calling it an “IT security issue.” Victims often at least initially decline to confirm ransomware attacks.

The hospital said in a statement that it was diverting some emergency room patients and rescheduling non-emergency patient appointments through Monday. It said it is not moving patients currently in the hospital to other facilities.

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Patients will be contacted directly if their appointments are affected, spokeswoman Tori Lynn Schneider said in a statement.

It was unclear when systems would fully return online. The hospital said it has been working with law enforcement.

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The hospital, headquartered in Tallahassee, provides health care across 21 counties in northern Florida and southern Georgia, according to its website.

Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft said there were 25 ransomware attacks involving hospitals or hospital systems last year.

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Scammer steals thousands of dollars worth of laptops from South Florida business – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

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(WSVN) – A South Florida business has become the victim of a highly sophisticated scam. Kevin Ozebek exposes the scheme in tonight’s 7 Investigates.

Jake Luther’s company supplies items big and small to a host of clients.

Jake Luther: “Anything from toilet paper at your local museum or sandblasting a trailer for the military.”

So Jake was ecstatic when he got an email from a man saying he was Rodney Cartwright, the senior procurement executive at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Jake Luther: “It was from a dot-gov email address. From there it says, ‘We’d like you to bid on the opportunity to supply us with laptops for a new office expansion.’ We looked him up, we looked up the address, we looked up the National Gallery of Art. Everything lined up.”

Since the museum houses one of the most prestigious art collections in the country, Jake jumped at the chance.

He replied with a bid to send 63 laptops for $97,900.

A few days later, he got an email saying the bid was approved.

Jake Luther: “I was planning for my wedding, so we had a bunch of expenses coming up, so to me, being a Christian guy, this is a blessing from God.”

From his Cutler Bay office, Jake ordered the computers and sent them to a warehouse in Nashua, New Hampshire.

He was told it was the gallery’s distribution center.

Jake Luther: “During this time, he came back to me, and he was like, ‘You know, there’s a chance that we’re doing another expansion. It’s our final one. We need to order like another 60 more units.’”

So Jake sent 60 more laptops for $116,000 to Nashua.

He then focused on his upcoming wedding.

Jake Luther: “When I got back from my honeymoon, we’re about the 30-day mark where this contract should be paid out through wire transfer, which is relatively typical for these type of deals.”

But the money never came, and Jake stopped getting responses from the man he thought was Rodney Cartwright.

Jake Luther: “It’s one of my lowest emotional moments. It was like I could feel my head pounding, I could hear ringing in my ears. I immediately got on my knees and didn’t know what to do.”

Jake then tracked down the real Rodney Cartwright at the museum and…

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Florida Blue increases local investments in food security programs to more than $16 million

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Florida Blue Foundation awards additional $3.73 million in grants to innovative community programs making a meaningful impact in fight against hunger and food insecurity

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — An estimated 2.2 million Floridians lack access to healthy food, including just over 660,000 children, according to Feeding America. Today, the Florida Blue Foundation announced another major investment to address food insecurity in the state with $3.73 million in grants awarded to 10 community-based programs.

The latest funding brings the total investment in food security programs from Florida Blue and its Foundation to more than $16 million over the last four years.

“Healthy communities need healthy food. When people don’t have enough food or must choose inexpensive foods with little nutritional value, it can seriously impact their health and well-being. Each year, more than $4.2 billion in health care costs are associated with food insecurity in our state,” said Pat Geraghty, Florida Blue and GuideWell president and CEO.

“The rising cost of food has only made this issue worse for our state. Florida Blue is focused on ensuring every person in Florida has reliable and affordable access to nutritious food and the knowledge of how to make it an enjoyable part of their daily lives,” said Geraghty 

The 10 nonprofit organizations receiving the latest $3.73 million in funding from the Florida Blue Foundation will use the grants for community-based food security initiatives that not only provide access to nutritional food but address obstacles to food security in their communities.

“Food insecurity is a highly complex issue. Each community’s relationship and access to food is unique. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to this issue,” said Susan Towler, executive director of the Florida Blue Foundation. “These Florida Blue Foundation grants will fund programs that directly improve access to and quality of food security for people at the neighborhood level, particularly in communities with underserved, racial and ethnic minorities, and low-income populations. We selected these 10 organizations because we believe they can make a meaningful and lasting impact in…

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