In my earlier post today, I blogged about the loss of memory cards at an Arizona hospital that had information on some 2,200 patients who had endoscopies. Now the California Department of Public Health reported that it lost data for more than 2,500 facility residents, department employees and other healthcare workers. How viral is that?
This past year the CDPH fined hospitals guilty of losing patient records. It was supposed to beef up its efforts to protect this from happening again, but that hasn't happened. In this case, the information that was lost was stored on magnetic tape that was not encrypted. The data on this tape contained more information than the memory cards in the Arizona health center. Names, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, background and medical health information -- all you need, and then some, for identity theft.
Two things happened to compromise the safety of this data. First, the field office, where the tape originated, failed to encrypt the files, as per normal procedure. Then they sent it to the central office via USPS instead of by courier. The envelope arrived, but it was unsealed and empty.
When there is vulnerability in security, it's often because a company doesn't want to spend the money on upgrades. As everyone knows, California is in dire financial straits. But this time lack of sufficient funding wasn't the culprit. It was just a lack of following proper procedures. All that's really required are reminders everywhere -- on posters and on every computer monitor:
MIND THE SECURITY GAP
Call me paranoid, but I believe that people have to be alert 24/7 about their personal data. Recently I posted a blog about how information stolen in Fort Hood, Texas about 20 soldiers led to more than 2,000 attempts to use their identities to make money. Here's a more staggering statistic: 2,284 endoscopy patients' information is missing because two data cards were lost or misplaced at the Mountain Vista Medical Center in Meza, Arizona two months ago.
People tend to think in a linear fashion. Health care workers concentrate on their patients, as they should, but they need to be trained to think of every component in their workplace as cash to be guarded. No doubt they are careful about the equipment they use insofar as they try to avoid physical damage. But, like every worker I've dealt with in offices, they don't think too much about the IT part. If there's a problem, they just call IT to fix it. In this case, the issue is the privacy of the patients' medical information (names, dates of birth, ages and genders), not their addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card information. Still, it was enough for the medical center to notify patients of the incident and to offer them the standard patch -- one year of free credit monitoring services.
Fortunately, the hospital has revised security procedures for storing compact memory cards and are retraining employees on procedures related to confidentiality and security. That said, there is reason to be concerned about other security vulnerabilities at the hospital. Hackers don't give up. Just yesterday, my wife was at a small credit union in Stamford and one of the top employees said, "You can't simply throw out papers anymore. You have to shred them." She went on to explain that if a hacker isn't successful right away, he or she will wait a few months to use the information he has. Time is on the side of the hackers.
Loss of savings is a daily concern for many people since the economic meltdown more than two years ago. Lately, there have been more threats of loss of savings due to security vulnerabilities in the U.S. government. A new report by the Government Accountability Office states that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation lacks adequate encryption of "sensitive information transmitted over its network." It also found that the FDIC has "inconsistent identification and authentication user controls" and needs to beef up its internal monitoring and auditing practices. One example the GAO cited was the existence of default installation user ideas on some of its UNIX servers. Another is that the data network and voice network are both on the same network.
I'm not a heavy duty UNIX administrator, but I know enough about UNIX. It's an open system that is widely used in servers, on workstations and in mobile devices. It's critical that companies have policies and firewalls in place to avoid unauthorized penetration of their systems.
It's ironic that after all these years, the FDIC increased its insurance protection in case banks went under. Now people have to worry that their savings might be lost because of inadequate data security.
Some people think I go overboard in trying to protect my Social Security number. Several weeks ago I blogged about an audit in the Social Security department which uncovered issues in the process of procuring and installing software. Now West Point Professor Lt. Col. Gregory Ponti, a former Army intelligence officer, released a scathing report about the appalling careless in the military with regards to personal information.
Apparently, since the 1960s, military personnel use their Social Security numbers in everyday settings. Checking out sports equipment? Your Social Security number, please. Yes, sir. Flu shot? We need your Social Security number. Yes, sir. The New York Times reported that "thousands of soldiers in Iraq even stencil the last four digits onto their laundry bags." Although the Department of Defense claimed two years ago that it would limit the use of Social Security numbers, it hasn't happened. Only last week did the Defense Department put an end to using Social Security numbers on military ID cards, and that isn't scheduled for another five months. Moreover, Col. Conti noted, "The farther you get away from the flagpole at headquarters, these policies get overturned by operational realities."
I have never served in the military or navy, but it doesn't take much imagination to think of scenarios in which soldiers the idea of identity theft is the last thing on their mind. But soldiers don't have to be in combat to be at a heightened risk for identity theft. Last June, a Staten Island D.A. indicted a gang who stole the identities of 20 soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas.The theft was traced to a former Army member who moved to New York. The gang made more than 2,500 attempts to use the soldiers' identities.
20 soldiers, 2,515 attempts total = 125 attempts per identity theft victim
The Defense Department is trying a new campaign to make its personnel aware of the problem but, in my opinion, it's moving at snail's pace. The biggest threat is to those who are stationed overseas. They have no control over what's going on here if someone has their Social Security numbers. If the Defense Department asked me, I would immediately issue new identity cards without Social Security numbers and have the old ones shredded and have the bags of shredded paper hauled away with a military police escort.
Call me paranoid about identify theft, but I don't want to have the burden of proof on me that I didn't authorize credit card charges. I'm proud of my credit rating and want to keep it perfect.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/technology/07identity.html
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/12/the-militarys-cultural-disrega/
It wasn't anything like an IRS audit. It was far worse. According to an evaluation late last month by none other than the Office of the Inspector Attorney General of the Social Security Administration, two Trojan horses and five keyloggers penetrated all the way onto agency workstations. That's right. Everyone's Social Security number is at risk and everyone is more vulnerable than ever to being a victim of identity theft.
These penetrations came via unauthorized installation of non-standard software, according to the report. Non-standard software doesn't mean it's bad. It just means than it was either not developed by in-house programmers or that it wasn't bought through the agency's regular acquisition process. Still, the story gets worse. Two of the workstation workers knew that the software they were installing were potentially unsafe. The other five installed it unintentionally. The SSA uses Microsoft tools to inventory executable files on Windows machines used by both employees and contractors. This tool scans well over 100,000 devices every week to detect unauthorized software. The policy at the SSA permits non-standard software to be installed as long as agency security officers approve it. Some users simply believed that all they had to do was submit their request to the CIO. OK, they were wrong, but it appears that the CIO simply rubber stamped the request instead of issuing reminders about the standard operating procedures of the department.
This makes me wonder what other protocols exist at the SSA. Who writes the policies? Why aren't they being implemented correctly Do the contract workers have Errors & Omissions Insurance? Are they using other firewalls? How often is testing done to detect vulnerabilities? Are they going to make the CIO accountable for this potential disaster?
Everyone who reads this blog knows that I am a fanatic about my personal security. I'm horrified that seniors' Social Security numbers are on their Medicare cards. Many company websites require job applicants to type in their Social security numbers. I mentioned this to someone in my network who works in HR. She said smart applicant type in 000-00-0000. I give my EIN when I'm hired as a consultant. Unless a job offer is on the table, no prospective employer even knows my real birthday. It's just not something that I'm going to make easily available. Suppose my resume or on-line application is printed out and tossed into a waste paper basket instead of shredded? I also block my credit report so that in case my personal information gets out, along with my address and checking account number (for direct deposit), no one can apply for credit in my name. It's easy to block and unblock and the fee is far less than what it would cost me to deal with my identity being stolen.
As for my birthday, just send me presents all year long. One of these days you'll get it right!
http:www.ssa.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF/A-14-10-21082.pdf
Republican, Democrat, Independents, Tea Party supporters, coffee drinkers and anyone in IT security all agree on one thing: cyberscurity is critical. That said, Andrew McLaughlin, White House Deputy CTO said that the multi-jurisdictional, multi-stakeholder certificate-based web browsing model poses a problem that the government can't fix.
"Government can't fix it and government shouldn't fix it," he told the New America Foundation. "So this is not an area where public policy is going to be able to waltz in with a thunder set of regulations, or some kind of rule set perpetrated down through the system by an authority -- it's just not going to happen."
Uh, oh. Normally phrases that tell businesses that they don't have to worry about regulations bring out loud cheers. Not so in this case, even though he added the magic words most business leaders love to hear. "You don't want government to try to be your front line. We have a history of screwing things up."
Cybercrimes are growing and every business that has been a victim wants the government to be its front line, side line and back line. Hackers will not stop trying to break to bank accounts. They don't do it for fun. They do it for one reason only: quick money and lots of it. If the government takes a back seat, it's definitely going to screw up. There is only one justification for government: and that is to protect it citizens -- all of them. Businesses of all sizes are vulnerable. Many large corporations, including big banks, have had their data hacked into and possibly (read: probably) compromised. Ditto for a consortium of hospitals in New York City. Cybertheft has surpassed half a billion dollars, double from the year before. Ari Schwartz, senior Internet policy advisor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology notes that the Internet is comprised of "voluntarily interconnected networks" and one organization's lax practices cane make the entire network vulnerable, even if all the other parties are up to snuff on security. Nevertheless, Mr. McLaughlin is throwing his arms up because it's difficult to detect the weak link among the players, jurisdictions, standards, hardware and physical interconnections that allow browsing. Hey, wasn't President Obama vocal about going almost completely digital, including medical records? It's ironic that when he ran for office, his opponent, John McCain was living in static black and white, totally computer literate. (At least he's now tweeting.) Anyway, the last I checked, robbery is robbery, no matter how it's committed. You wouldn't want your local government to announce that the police department isn't going to protect you from robber because it's not the government's job. Tell us again why the government shouldn't be the front line, Mr. McLaughlin? Maybe you should have a web chat with Mr. Schwartz.
October 17-21 is Identity Theft Protection Week. This is a problem that costs individuals and companies millions of dollars each year. Moreover, for an individual, it's hell. Many people whose homes or cars have been robbed describe it as having felt raped. Identity theft is similar, even if the victim did not come home to drawers that were left open after being rummaged through. Identity theft is like having your personal mail and diaries read. The perpetrator need only know four basic things -- your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number -- but those four things are more than you want him or her to know. That perp can drain your savings and damage your credit score.
No reputable business wants to let that happen, but it does occur because the powers might be so determined to keep costs down that mid-level decision-makers choose not to upgrade their security. In the medical community, it's worse. Hospitals are usually non-profit entities, but they run on thin margins even if they are, for all practical purposes, making money. Most private practices don't make huge profits because they have at least one receptionist, one nurse, one medical secretary and one billing clerk. There is no consensus on Electronic Medical Records -- say, the Microsoft Office equivalent that's the standard in the industry. Even though the system for EMR is about $10-12K, many doctors are reluctant to put the money into it, especially if they are going to have to change in a few years.
Note to anyone who does get electronic records: When asking for medical information by e-mail, make sure it is encrypted. Standard e-mail is not protected by PHI (Personal Health Information) compliance standards. Chances are, those e-mails won't contain items that the identity theft perp wants, but there is no reason why anyone other than immediate family or health providers should have information about your personal health.
