On October 1, 2021, major changes to Connecticut’s electronic data breach statute take effect. Those changes will affect health care providers’ reporting obligations for HIPAA breaches involving electronic information (e.g., a misdirected email or fax). This is because the definition of personal information in the state data breach statute will include “medical information regarding an individual’s medical history, mental or physical condition, or medical treatment or diagnosis by a health care professional” as well as health insurance policy or identification numbers. As a result, more HIPAA breaches will also trigger state data breach law reporting.
Tag Archives: Data Breach
Written in collaboration with Nathaly Tamayo, JD.
Late in the legislative session, both the Connecticut House and Senate passed House Bill 5310 (now Public Act 21-59), An Act Concerning Data Privacy Breaches, which substantially amends Connecticut’s data breach notification statute (CGS §36a-701b). Although the bill implemented a number of revisions, the most notable changes significantly expand the definition of personal information and shorten the notification timeframe.
A relatively new kind of ransomware is targeting law firms and publicly shaming them into paying the ransom or risk having the firm’s data dumped on the internet. In other ransomware news, instead of money, some hackers are demanding photos of women’s body parts.