Texas Health Provider Suffers Ransomware Attack
Urology Austin, a healthcare provider with 13 locations in central Texas, was the target of a cyber attack on January, 22 2017. It appears that the attackers were able to encrypt data on the company servers in an attempt to charge ransom through a ransomware attack. It was not clear whether the hackers were able to actually access any of the data that they encrypted. However, notification was sent to 200,000 patients as a precaution.
Mastercard Requires QSA or ISA for Level 2 Merchants
The standard for handling credit card data is set by the PCI (Payment Card Industry) SSC (Security Standards Council). However, each card brand, Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, Discover and JCB, manages its own specific compliance program. Requirements for becoming compliant and reporting are set by each card brand. Even though each programs requirements are similar, there are slight variations in certain particular details as to how they apply to different merchants.