Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/717576
71 CIO / HEALTH IT Banner Health Suffers Year's Largest Data Breach; 3.7M Affected By Akanksha Jayanthi C yberattackers gained access to "a limited number" of Banner Health computer servers, including servers that process payment card information where food and beverages are sold at the Phoe- nix-based health system. Overall, the breach affected up to 3.7 million patients, Banner health plan members and beneficiaries, food and beverage customers and providers, making it the largest healthcare data breach of 2016 so far. e attack was initiated June 17, according to Banner's investigation. Potentially compro- mised information includes patient names, addresses, birthdates, physician names, dates of service, clinical information, health insur- ance information and Social Security num- bers if one was provided to the system. For those enrolled in a Banner health plan, claims information, insurance information and em- ployee benefit information may also have been affected. Provider names, addresses, Drug Enforcement Agency numbers, tax identifica- tion numbers and national provider identifier numbers may have also been involved. Banner indicates the cyberattackers targeted payment card data and cards used at food and beverage outlets at certain Banner Health loca- tions between June 23 and July 7. Cardholder names, card numbers, expiration dates and internal verification codes were compromised. Banner Health released a list of 27 food and beverage locations affected by the cyberattack. e health system says it has returned to ac- cepting all forms of payment at food outlets. "You can use your payment card with confi- dence," according to the health system. Pay- ment cards used to pay for medical services were not affected. Banner is offering free credit and identity monitoring to affected individuals for one year and has notified the DEA and providers' licensing boards of the incident. e health system also says it is enhancing the security of its networks systems. "Banner is committed to maintaining the privacy and security of information of our patients, employees, plan members and ben- eficiaries, customers at our food and beverage outlets, as well as our providers," Peter Fine, president and CEO of Banner Health, said in the notice. n Ransomware Events Expected to Double in 2016 By Akanksha Jayanthi T here are still five months in the year, but the number of ransomware cases is expected to double those of 2015 and reach an all-time high, according to data solution provider Advisen. From 2010 to 2015, the number of network security dis- ruptions grew five times. And while the number of cyber cases compromising more than 1 million records peak- ed in 2013, there were still 70 percent more cyber cases in 2015 than there were in 2010, according to Advisen. "Other cyber risk categories that have seen steady growth are system/network security disruptions and privacy violations, both of which tripled size from 2010 to 2015," said Aloysius Tan, cyber expert and product manager for Advisen. "Privacy violations grew 13 per- cent from 2014 to 215 — a trend we expect to continue." Advisen analyzed its proprietary cyber database of more than 26,000 cases. n Cerner Earnings Up 45% in Q2 By Erin Dietsche C erner released its financial results from the second quarter of 2016, which ended July 2. Here are four things to know about the results. On a GAAP basis, earnings increased 44.8 percent from the sec- ond quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2016. Net earnings for the second quarter of 2016 were $166.5 million, while net earnings for the second quarter of 2015 were $115 million. Bookings increased 9 percent during the same time peri- od. For the second quarter of 2016, bookings were at $1.40 billion. Bookings were at $1.29 billion for the second quarter of 2015. Revenue increased 8 percent between the second quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2016. Cerner's revenue in the second quarter of 2016 was $1.216 billion, compared with to a revenue of $1.126 billion in the second quarter of 2015. Adjusted net earnings rose 8.9 percent during the same time period. In the second quarter of 2016, Cerner's adjusted net earnings were $199.2 million. The company's adjusted net earnings were $183 million during the second quarter of 2015. n