Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

In New Hampshire, state officials are diligently working to update and strengthen the state’s computer systems against breaches after there was a cybersecurity breach in 2015 involving the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The DHHS press release regarding the data breach can be found here. According to the Concord Monitor, as […]

Nothing can be quite as devastating to a business’s customer base than a data breach. How do customers perceive businesses after a data breach? What was once a highly-trusted, well-regarded company could be quickly downgraded to an untrustworthy, irresponsible company after a data breach. The public generally perceives data breaches as a sign that a business was […]

Cyber security is something that small businesses should take seriously. Many small businesses tend to neglect cyber security because they typically do not think that they are a target for hackers. However, the number of cyber attacks made on small business entities has been on the rise for the past five years. A whopping 43% […]

When there is a data security breach, there are state and federal data breach notification laws that places time limits on when those who are affected must be notified. A failure to make a timely notification of the data breach can be quite costly. Several state data breach notification laws and some federal data breach […]

As the number of physical devices that are connected to the internet increases so too does the threat of cyberattacks on physical devices that are part of the Internet of Things. Practically everything that has electronics nowadays is connected online in what is known as the Internet of Things. Vehicles, dishwashing machines, refrigerators, and a […]

Trades secrets are important to a company’s bottom line and they are at the core of any company’s long-term success. Consider, for example, the famous Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe, which allegedly includes 11 herbs and spices. Kentucky Fried Chicken has kept its renowned recipe a secret for decades, which many consider to be the key […]

  At the end of December, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new guidance for medical device cybersecurity. The new guidance encourages medical device developers and producers to make cybersecurity of networked medical devices a top priority throughout the product development lifecycle. It did not take long after the issuance of this new guidance […]

The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has published an archive of yearly data breaches, which provides data breach statistics collected by the office from 2007 to the present. These statistics clearly show that data breaches are on the rise in Massachusetts. Since 2007, in which there were 30 breach notifications, Massachusetts has seen […]

A Netflix phishing scam has been identified and users in the United States are being cautioned about an email that targets credit card information and other personal data. A California-based cyber-security firm recently identified a phishing email campaign affecting the popular video streaming service’s customer base. This latest attack is just another example of how […]

2016 was unkind when it comes to health care system data breaches. The top ten healthcare data breaches of 2016 affected more than 16 million people. There were more than 300 incidents of hacking and data security breaches throughout the year. The federal government tracks instances of healthcare data breaches and publishes its report for […]