Tag: Cybersecurity
VGM releases cybersecurity playbook
April 9, 2025HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa — VGM & Associates has released “The Ultimate Cybersecurity Handbook: Prevention, Detection, and Response,” an exclusive resource specifically focused on helping VGM members protect their businesses from cyber threats. This resource closely examines pressing cybersecurity issues, offering an in-depth report that examines real-world examples of attacks, their impact on patient care, practical prevention steps and a roadmap for building stronger security in clinical...
CU completes audit
February 13, 2025HME News Staff
BILLINGS, Mont. – Computers Unlimited, a software development company, has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit performed by KirkpatrickPrice. This attestation provides evidence that Computers Unlimited has a strong commitment to security and to delivering high-quality services to its clients by demonstrating that it has the necessary internal controls and processes in place. “In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, data security and operational integrity are more critical than...
Proposed rule strengthens cyber protections
February 7, 2025Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – A new proposed rule related to electronic protected health information would enforce measures that HME providers should already be working toward in an environment of unrelenting cyberattacks, say industry consultants.
The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services in late December issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Security Rule to strengthen cybersecurity protections...
Cybersecurity: Perform routine scans
December 10, 2024Brandon Potter
Q. What are vulnerability scans and how do they help me?
A. Vulnerability scanning is a lot like a routine physical at your physician’s office but intended for your IT systems. These scans use special tools to look for any security weaknesses in your network, systems and applications. By doing this regularly, you can spot potential problems early and fix them before they turn into big, and expensive, issues.
Why care about regular scans?
Regular scans help you find...
Cybersecurity: Make breaches more difficult
November 13, 2024Brandon Potter
Q. What is multi-factor authentication?
A. If you’re like one-third of Americans, you’ve gotten a lovely letter from Change Healthcare informing you of what you already know: Your health care data was part of their recent breach and is out in the wild.
Why did this happen? Andrew Witty, CEO of United Healthcare, Change’s corporate parent, revealed that the root cause of the breach was a lack of multi-factor authentication on a particular service, and that...
Cybersecurity: Have a plan
October 16, 2024Brandon Potter
Q. What is incident response planning and why is it important?
A. Incident response (IR) planning involves developing a structured approach to detect, respond to and manage cybersecurity incidents. As businesses increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, having a robust and documented plan is crucial to safeguarding an organization’s assets. A well-developed plan allows an organization to quickly identify, contain and mitigate an incident, minimizing downtime and financial losses.
In...
Cybersecurity: Improve threat resilience
September 16, 2024Brandon Potter
Q. Is cybersecurity a critical risk in the HME/DME Industry? What are some basic things we can do to protect ourselves?
A. In today's world, cybersecurity is a critical concern, especially in the home medical equipment industry. The risk of cyber threats grows exponentially as these sectors increasingly rely on digital technologies for managing operations, patient records and sensitive data. HME providers are prime targets for cyberattacks, given their essential role in our nation's...
Ryan Wood on the ‘automation race’ in cybersecurity
May 10, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WATERLOO, Iowa – Ryan Wood, VGM Group’s new chief information security officer, believes health care companies, as a general rule, need to “assume compromise” in the wake of the Change Healthcare cyberattack.
“Without knowing the specifics of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, I think we should be leaning on building our cyber program and infrastructure for resilience, rather than being focused on backup and recovery,” said Wood, a recent guest on the...
Senator on cyberattack: ‘It was only a matter of time’
March 25, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a member of the Senate Finance Committee and-chairman of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, has introduced legislation that would allow for advance and accelerated payments to health care providers in the event of a cyber incident, as long as they and their vendors meet minimum cybersecurity standards.
“I’ve been sounding the alarm about cybersecurity in the health care sector for some time,” Warner said. “It was only...
VGM names CISO
February 26, 2024HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa – VGM Group has announced Ryan Wood as its chief information security officer (CISO). Wood, who has more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and infrastructure management, most recently served as global director of IT security and systems engineering for Krause Group, which has more than 5,000 employees and multiple companies operating throughout the United States and the European Union. “I am thrilled to welcome Ryan to VGM Group,” said VGM Group CEO Jeremy...