Sage Datko  |  January 1, 2020

Category: Legal News

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Healthcare ransomware statistics indicate 4 million records have been affectedDespite the serious nature of ransomware attacks against hospitals and other healthcare facilities, little research has been conducted into these incidents. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), there has been an average of 4,000 daily ransomware attacks since 2016.  Many of these attacks target hospitals and other healthcare providers.

Healthcare Ransomware Statistics Indicate Attacks on the Rise

Ransomware is a type of software that holds an individual or company’s information hostage until a sum of money has been paid to the attacker.

When ransomware thieves target healthcare providers, they may freeze patient records or other sensitive medical information and refuse to release it unless they are paid a large fee. Ransomware attacks against hospitals and other healthcare facilities may result in the loss of patient records, disruption to services, and privacy violations, as well as confusion and panic.

Patients whose records were seized by ransomware hackers may be at risk of identity theft, invasions of privacy, and loss of important medical history and records.

According to Healthcare IT News, Allan Liska, a threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future conducted research into these kinds of targeted attacks after discovering that little was known about hospital ransomware assaults. As many of these attacks are not reported to HHS, it is unknown exactly how many of these attacks have occurred.

However, Recorded Future was able to document 117 incidents of ransomware targeting U.S. healthcare providers. According to this research on healthcare ransomware statistics, at least 4,474,000 patient records have been affected by ransomware attacks.

While it has been commonly believed by hackers and other attackers seeking ransoms that hospitals are more likely than other industries to pay ransoms, the data indicates that only 15 percent of the studied incidents resulted in a confirmed payment. 61 percent of the attacks did not result in a ransom payment, and 24 percent were unknown.

The reluctance of hospitals to report ransomware attacks may be an attempt to keep coverage of the attacks out of the media. In one case from early 2016, a medical center that paid out after a ransom attack received so much media coverage that the incident is now covered on the hospital’s Wikipedia page.

Unfortunately, healthcare ransomware statistics indicate that these assaults on hospitals are on the rise. In 2016, 29 ransomware incidents were reported to the HHS, followed by 27 in 2017, 30 in 2018, and 34 incidents in the first ten months of 2019. In 2019 alone, at least two healthcare providers were forced to shut down due to ransomware attacks. Countless other providers were subject to confusion, service disruption, and loss of patient trust.

If you are a patient at a hospital or other healthcare provider that was targeted by ransomware thieves, you may be eligible to hire a qualified attorney to represent you in a legal case. Victims whose medical records were frozen or accessed may be able to recover compensation.

Join a Free Hospital Ransomware Attack Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were a patient at a hospital or healthcare facility affected by a ransomware attack that impacted your medical care, you may qualify to join a hospital ransomware attack class action lawsuit investigation.

Learn More

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.

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One thought on Healthcare Ransomware Statistics Indicate 4M Patient Records Affected

  1. jody ezell says:

    Please add me

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