12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY July 4-10, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas fell victim to a cybersecurity attack on March 11, and on May 1, a team of experts hired by Clinica determined that “certain data was accessed or acquired,” prompting officials with the nonprofit health care provider to notify patients that their names, demographic information and diagnoses, along with other health information, may have been compromised. Immediately after the cybersecurity experts determined the extent of the March breach, the websites Breachsense and HookPhish reported that Clinica had come under attack on May 2 from BianLiam, an internationally known ransomware group. (Clinica officials did not respond to a request for comment.) After the first attack in March, federal law enforcement was notified and Clinica officials “implemented additional security measures to minimize the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future,” according to its website. Cyber attacks on hospitals and other health care providers continue to be a problem in the U.S., with over 540 reported last year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (By law, health care organizations must report data breaches of 500 or more patients to the California Department of Public Health and HHS within 15 days of detection.) The HHS Office for Civil Rights is currently investigating 34 breaches in California; none are in Monterey County. The smallest breach affects 500 patients and the largest, affecting 13.4 million patients, relates to a network server belonging to Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. On June 24, the FBI and HHS released an advisory warning of “cyberthreat” actors targeting health care organizations to steal payments. Officials called the organizations “attractive targets for threat actors due to their size, technological dependence, access to personal health information, and unique impacts from patient care disruptions.” Described as a “social engineering campaign,” the advisory warns that the threat actors are using phishing schemes to steal login credentials specifically related to the processing of reimbursement payments to insurance companies, Medicare or similar entities. The payments are diverted to U.S. bank accounts and then sent to overseas accounts. In some cases the phishing consisted of someone posing as a legitimate employee calling an organization’s IT help desk, triggering a password reset for the targeted employee’s account. Or, they have manipulated an IT employee to bypass multi-factor authentication. Bad actors also use employees’ personal information gained through data breaches, to confirm an employee’s identification over the phone. The FBI and HHS advisory recommends organizations implement multi-factor identification for every account, train IT help desk employees and review the use of their remote access tools, among other protective actions. Cyber Vigilance A data breach comes to Clinica de Salud and the FBI warns health care organizations are a target. By Pam Marino After a cyber attack, Clinica de Salud is offering free access to identity protection services through the company IDX, as long as patients enroll by Sept. 3. NEWS After the first attack, federal law enforcement was notified. DANIEL DREIFUSS JOB FAIR Wednesday, July 10, 2024 8 A.M. – 12 P.M. Thursday, July 11, 2024 3 P.M. – 6 P.M. Fairway One Complex 3304 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953 Interviews on the spot The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the week of August 12 – 18. Applicants must be able to work Friday, August 16 – Sunday, August 18. Please come prepared to provide proof of employment eligibility. Hiring for all areas Bartenders, bussers, cashiers, cooks, housekeepers, purchasing clerks, servers, shuttle drivers, stewards, valets, and many more. Special event applications will be available on-site. Questions: (831) 649-7657 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Temporary Special Event PBR400-18_PB-Concours-Monterey County Weekly.indd 1 2024-06-26 7:49 AM JOIN US FOR A FREE CONSERVATION WEBINAR The Monterey Peninsula is a leader in water conservation. Thank you for your commitment to being water wise! Learn more at: montereywaterinfo.org/events Join us for a free, interactive workshop in July, presented by Green Gardens Group via Zoom. Thursday, July 11 Graywater Basics 6 p.m.–7:15 p.m.
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