Health systems face evolving threats from cyberattacks

Despite data breaches in healthcare decreasing, the number of people affected by them is set to increase, a new report by cybersecurity firm Critical Insight suggests. The firm’s analysis revealed that in the first half of 2023, 40 million Americans were affected by health data breaches, while a record 58 million people were impacted in 2021. Health records are increasingly targeted by cyber criminals, who access the records by targeting insurers and other key vendors, rather than individual hospitals. Additionally, criminals exploit software vulnerabilities and begin scanning for exposures immediately after a vulnerability is announced.