HIPAA Blog

[ Thursday, May 02, 2024 ]

 

Size Matters: Just how big is the Change Healthcare breach?  Over 100 million Americans may be affected.  

I rode in a 150-mile bike ride between Houston and College Station, Texas last weekend; the Bike MS 150 raises money for research into a cure for multiple sclerosis.  There were several thousand riders, of all shapes, sizes, athleticism and biking skills.  No matter who you are, odds are there's someone faster than you and someone slower than you.  That gives you the opportunity to find a rider (or more likely a group of riders) who are slightly faster than you, upon whom you can "draft" as they ride past.  One thing you learn while riding in a large group is the benefit of numbers and the concept of the Peloton: the lead rider cuts a path through the air molecules such that trailing riders can exert less energy to keep up the same speed; likewise, the riders close behind the lead rider cut the aerodynamic "drag" on that rider by disrupting the backdraft that would normally happen.  

So when you are riding by yourself and a group passes you by a couple miles per hour faster, you can drop into the air behind them and ride at their speed with the same level of effort (or less) than you were exerting by yourself. The pack of riders create a "wind shadow" that hides you from the mass of air you would otherwise be riding into (as if against the wind). 

I bring this up because something occurred to me this morning: the Change breach may end up creating a "wind shadow" for other providers who are dealing with data breaches over the next few years, at least with respect to lawsuits for breach damages: how can a plaintiff prove that his damages were caused by Dr. Smith's data breach when the plaintiff's data was already exposed via the Change breach?  


Jeff [8:11 AM]

Comments: Post a Comment
http://www.blogger.com/template-edit.g?blogID=3380636 Blogger: HIPAA Blog - Edit your Template