Month: March 2022

Defense Against Cyber Attacks and Privacy Breaches

Cybersecurity attacks are on the rise and healthcare organizations like UConn Health are often targets. Cyber-attacks can corrupt devices, disable networks and allow bad actors to access patient and employee information. Quite simply, successful cyberattacks put patient safety and privacy at significant risk. We must all work together to lower this risk for our patients and all of UConn Health.

“Phishing” is the most common type of cyberattack. In this scheme bad actors will send you an email and “trick” you into opening an attachment or clicking a harmful link, allowing them to imbed viruses in your device and gain access to all of the data anywhere in your email account. Some viruses will then send phishing emails that look like they’re from you to other individuals at UConn Health. The cycle repeats and the damage multiplies.

To help prevent phishing attacks, look for emails that contain:

  • An urgent message that asks for your quick reply
  • A plea for help or financial assistance for a person, cause, campaign, or organization
  • Offers that sound too good to be true
  • Misspelled words and poor grammar
  • Mismatched email address information – look at the email address, not just the sender – make sure the display name matches the email address
  • Generic signature lines – make sure you can verify that the name and contact information are credible
  • Unexpected requests regarding personal information – be wary of clicking links or answering questions from contacts that you didn’t initiate
  • Unsolicited attachments

Strong security of your work and personal devices can also deter the theft of UConn Health’s data.

Remember to:

  • Use strong passwords and change them often
  • Create different passwords for different computers
  • Use 2-factor authentication when available
  • Install and update antivirus software frequently, including personal devices and networks

If you receive an email that looks suspicious, click the “Report Phish” button in the upper right corner of your screen. Please contact the Help Desk or IT Security for phishing or security questions and the Office of Healthcare Compliance and Privacy for privacy-related questions or guidance.

Compliance Training Due Tomorrow

Have you completed the 2021 Annual Compliance Trainings? In consideration of the extraordinary circumstances of the public health crisis and challenges faced by our workforce, the deadline for the training was extended to Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

The following three (3) trainings are due tomorrow (3/15):

  • 2021 Healthcare Compliance Training
  • 2021 HIPAA Privacy Training
  • 2021 Security Awareness Training

You can access the training by logging into the Saba Learning Center. Any outstanding training can be found under My Learning.

Compliance training is a key component of the University’s compliance program and is required by law and University policy. Courses are designed to educate the UConn Health community on identifying, preventing, and detecting incidents of non-compliance.

Please make every effort to complete any outstanding courses by tomorrow (3/15) to avoid disciplinary action. Thank you for your attention and support of the compliance program at UConn Health.

Contact the Office of Healthcare Compliance and Privacy with any questions.