Secure Your Health: Verify Data Breach in Our Database
TL/DR –
The medical information of over 144 million Americans was stolen or exposed in 2023 due to a record number of healthcare data breaches, with the most significant breach occurring in February when a ransomware attack targeted Change Healthcare, the nation’s largest health care payment system. The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the use of remote and third-party technologies, making the healthcare industry more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Since 2019, data breaches targeting third-party vendors contracted by hospitals have more than tripled, and the healthcare sector has been identified as a high-priority target due to the abundance of valuable personal information.
Record-breaking numbers of health care data breaches
Healthcare data breaches exposed or stole over 144 million Americans’ medical data last year, a record-breaking amount, according to an analysis of Health and Human Services (HHS) data. The most significant breach in 2023 happened in February when a ransomware attack targeted Change Healthcare, owned by UnitedHealth Group. The company handles a third of all patient records and processes 15 billion health care transactions annually.
Rising Vulnerability to Cyberattacks
The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased use of remote and third-party technologies in health care, making it especially vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk for the American Hospital Association. Data breaches targeting third-party vendors hired by hospitals tripled since 2019, growing significantly faster than attacks on traditional healthcare providers, according to an analysis of HHS data.
Impacts of Cyberattacks on Hospitals
Hospital cyberattacks disrupt patient care, pose risks to patient safety and can expose protected health information. Billing and payment issues may persist for months when health care payment systems are targeted. “It’s just going to get worse”, warns Errol Weiss, chief security officer at the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
Causes of Health Care Data Breaches
The abundance of financially valuable personal information makes the healthcare industry a major target for cyberattacks. Incidents of hacking account for over half of health data breaches since 2009. Moreover, ransomware attacks demanding large sums of money to restore access to sensitive medical data are becoming more common, according to a 2023 internet crime report by the FBI.
Biggest Health Care Data Breaches
The largest-ever health data breach prior to the Change ransomware attack occurred in 2015 when nearly 79 million Americans’ protected health information was exposed in an attack against health insurance giant Anthem, now named Elevance Health. In 2023, HCA Healthcare experienced the third-largest health data breach overall and the largest of the year, compromising the personal information of over 11 million patients. Post-Change Healthcare incident, lawmakers and regulators have directed increased attention towards proposing measures to safeguard health care organizations.
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