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VA Security Breach
The Veteran's Affairs department has had several notable security breeches in recent years. In one 2006 incident, patient data was downloaded onto an unsecured laptop and stolen. Patient records at the VA were unencrypted at the time. "If data is properly encrypted there is no data breach. The device can be stolen but no data can be accessed" because the thief lacks the 'key' to decode the data (Johnson 369). But since the data was not encrypted, patient records could be easily downloaded onto an unsecured computer that was later removed by the thief.
However, simply encrypting data is not enough, since the person possessing the key can potentially steal the data. First and foremost, adequate screening of employees is essential -- individuals that have access to sensitive data such as Social Security numbers should have to pass the standards for at least minimum security...
Secondly, no non-approved computers should be allowed on the premises. Employees should have to work at approved computers with secure connections when handling sensitive information. If employees must work from laptops at home, they should have to log in to access encrypted data, and data access should be limited to only those employees who must access it as part of their work duties; it should not be generally accessible to all employees. The greater the number of employees that possess the information, the greater the risk of security breaches.
Workers must also be trained to be vigilant about potential breaches of security policy. A later 2010 breach of security was discovered by a nurse-scientist who reported suspicious activity. Employees may be hesitant to speak up unless they are actively encouraged by official policy and an organizational culture of openness. Respect for the…
Internet Risk and Cybercrime at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Internet Risk Cybercrime Today, the mission of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as taken from President Lincoln's second inaugural address is, "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan." To this end, this cabinet-level organization provides healthcare services through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to nine million veteran patients each year.
Technology Proposal/Implementation Paper A: Introduction The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) remains a vital entity in as far as the provision of key services to veterans in the country is concerned. The Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA), to a large extent, concerns itself with the administration of U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ programs. This is more so the case with regard to the provision or advancement of various forms of support to not
Policy Communication: HITECH ACT Health policy communication: HITECH Act Policy description Part of the 2009 U.S. Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are the provisions of HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health), a major overhaul of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Under HITECH, monetary incentives are delivered to healthcare providers and schemes, for employing electronic health records (EHRs); the target is to ensure EHR implementation in every
Interviewee The information technology (IT) professional interviewed telephonically for this paper was the director of quality assurance for a VA medical center in Oklahoma. The director is a registered nurse and masters of public health who has responsibility for the implementation and administration of electronic health records in the medical center and its three supported outpatient clinics, including privacy and security protections for the medical center's decentralized hospital computer system.
First of all only a scant few of these Veterans groups will acknowledge the "promise" of free health care; for the most part these groups will tout the benefits already promised by the Veterans Administration and assert that cuts in these benefits are the same a broken promise-or contractual breach in legal terms. The idea of the United States military making a "promise" or forging a legally binding agreement between
However, because they make billing more efficient, the majority of large urban practice groups and hospitals have already made the switch to electronic records, according to Michael R. Costa, attorney and associate at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, in Boston, Mass. However, he adds, most of these organizations maintain warehouses where they store paper records that have been transcribed to electronic form. "There is resistance from some about going to a