[co-author: Sharilyn Clark*]
The New York Attorney General’s Office recently settled with Albany ENT & Allergy Services over claims that the healthcare provider failed to protect over 200,000 consumers’ private health information. The claims stem from two ransomware attacks in 2023. The AG argued that the company had violated New York’s data security law, resulting in the incident. As part of the settlement, Albany ENT agreed to pay $2.75 million in civil penalties and to implement additional security measures.
Among other things, the company has agreed to the following:
- Maintain a comprehensive Information Security Program that includes sufficient measures to protect personal information.
- Appoint personnel responsible for monitoring the information security program.
- Get annual third-party assessments of its security practices and the effectiveness of the program.
- Implement additional security measures, including multifactor authentication on devices that remotely access data and installing critical security updates in a timely manner.
- Implement oversights for data security vendors.
- Have a written Incident Response plan with internal procedures if there is a reasonable suspicion of a breach.
*Sharilyn Clark is a Privacy and Cybersecurity Fellow in the firm’s Chicago office.
Putting it Into Practice: As we’ve seen before, conducting business without essential safeguards to PI is the easiest way to find your company in trouble with regulators. This settlement should remind businesses to proactively assess their comprehensive information security program and practices for compliance.
