Law Firm Employee Lost Backup Hard Drive on Train; It Contained Med-Mal Patient Data

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_employee_lost_backup_hard_drive_with_med-mal_patient_data_on_train/


An article by Debra Cassens Weiss posted on the ABA Journal website under legal technology.

This article references a story appearing in the Baltimore Sun regarding a hard drive containing medial data for 161 patients involved in a lawsuit, which was lost on a train by a law firm employee.  The drive was not encrypted, but was password protected.

Please...if data is leaving your firm or your corporation...encrypt the media that contains the data.

The article states, "The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires “covered entities” to encrypt patient data; law firms may not be subject to the mandate, according Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center."  Mr. Rotenberg is also quoted the law firm might be perceived as being negligent for not encrypting the drive, even thought HIPAA may not apply.