Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Comstar Paid Feds $75K Last Year to Settle HIPAA Allegations in Same 2022 BreachAn ambulance billing and collections firm has agreed to pay $515,000 to Massachusetts and Connecticut regulators and implement a prescriptive information security program in the aftermath of a 2022 hacking incident affecting the sensitive information of nearly 350,000 residents in those states.

2020 Hack Has Cost EyeMed About $12.6M in Multiple Regulatory Fines, SettlementsBenefits provider EyeMed Vision Care has agreed to pay $5 million and improve its security practices to settle class action litigation involving a 2020 phishing breach. The incident has been the subject of previous multimillion dollar settlements and enforcement actions by multiple state regulators.

Telecom May Face Up to $2.22 Million Per Violation in FinesThe Australian privacy watchdog sued Optus, saying the country's second largest telecom failed for years to protect sensitive customer data breached during a September 2022 incident affecting nearly 10 million people. The regulator said Optus faces a potential fine of up to AU$21.9 trillion.

Enzo Biochem Previously Paid Three States $4.5M in Fines for Same BreachBiotech firm Enzo Biochem has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a consolidated proposed class action lawsuit involving a 2023 ransomware attack affecting 2.5 million people. The company has already paid $4.5 million in fines to three state attorneys general for the same incident.

Behavioral Health Company Lost Electronic PHI for Nearly 3,000 Patients in BreachA Florida-based behavioral health holding company has paid federal regulators a $337,750 HIPAA settlement for a 2018 incident involving the deletion of electronic protected health information pertaining to nearly 3,000 patients. How should other entities avoid these data loss situations?

AG Says HealthAlliance Tried But Failed to Fix Zero-Day Flaw That Led to ExploitNew York State has levied a $550,000 fine against a healthcare group that tried - but failed - to patch a critical zero-day vulnerability in a Citrix NetScaler appliance used for telemedicine. Hackers exploited the flaw, stealing 196 gigabytes of data in an incident affecting 242,000 people.