Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Executive Editor, HealthcareInfoSecurity, ISMG

McGee is executive editor of Information Security Media Group's HealthcareInfoSecurity.com media site. She has about 30 years of IT journalism experience, with a focus on healthcare information technology issues for more than 15 years. Before joining ISMG in 2012, she was a reporter at InformationWeek magazine and news site and played a lead role in the launch of InformationWeek's healthcare IT media site.

Medical Devices: Care Benefits vs. Cybersecurity Risks

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 31, 2017

In an in-depth interview about a new study that identifies thousands of vulnerabilities in cardiac devices, security researcher Billy Rios calls on manufacturers to more carefully consider the compromises they make in balancing the usability benefits to patient care versus the cybersecurity risks.

21st Century Cures Act: Will It Revamp Health Data Exchange?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 30, 2017

The 21st Century Cures Act presents a number of critical but challenging issues pertaining to the advancement of nationwide secure health information exchange that federal regulators must address, David Kibbe, M.D., president and CEO of DirectTrust, explains in this in-depth interview.

Could Impact of Proposed Cuts to OCR's Budget Be Softened?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 26, 2017

To offset some of the Trump administration's proposed cuts to the budget for the HHS Office for Civil Rights, which enforces HIPAA, the agency proposes to take advantage of another source of revenue. But will the HIPAA compliance audit program survive and thrive?

Protecting Medical Devices from Ransomware: A Critical Step

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 25, 2017

Healthcare entities need to take a critical step right now to prevent their medical devices from being affected by the next major ransomware attack, says cybersecurity expert Kevin Fu.

Big Settlement in Privacy Case Involving 2 Patients, HIV Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 24, 2017

A New York City hospital has paid a hefty HIPAA settlement to federal regulators for privacy breaches that impacted just two patients but involved the impermissible disclosure of sensitive medical information, including HIV status.

Trump Proposes Hefty HHS Budget Cuts for OCR, ONC

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 23, 2017

The Trump administration's detailed budget proposal for fiscal 2018 calls for hefty cuts for the two Department of Health and Human Services agencies responsible for health data privacy and security issues, including HIPAA enforcement. What's the potential impact?

HHS OIG Recommends Virginia Medicaid Address Security Gaps

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 22, 2017

A watchdog agency's audit of Virginia's Medicaid information systems found security weaknesses that could potentially leave beneficiaries' data vulnerable. Security experts say the audit's recommended improvements are needed at many healthcare organizations.

Beyond Patch Management: Ransomware Mitigation Strategies

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 19, 2017

Beyond improving their patch management practices, what else can organizations do to avoid falling victim to ransomware attacks such as WannaCry? Security expert Doug Copley offers advice.

HHS Ramps Up Cyber Threat Information Sharing

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • May 18, 2017

A series of email alerts from the Department of Health and Human Services about the WannaCry ransomware campaign - and a number of related daily conference calls with industry stakeholders - appear to be part of a ramped-up push to improve cyber information sharing in the healthcare sector.