An increasing reliance on digital tools within the healthcare industry, particularly since the pandemic, has in turn led to an increase in cybersecurity attacks.
Companies stand to lose more than just the trust of patients when private information is leaked; data breaches continue to be very costly for the firms involved.
Overall, data breaches have cost healthcare companies $11 million so far in 2023, which represents an increase of 8% over the last year, and a 53% jump since 2020, HealthCareDrive reports.
That makes healthcare the industry with the costliest data breaches overall, a distinction it has held for more than a decade, the study states.
Last year, that amounted to 20 million patients’ healthcare data being released without consent, the McKnight’s Clinical Daily reported.
The study was conducted by the Ponemon Institute and published by IBM.
At least half of the organizations in the study are planning more robust security measures, and artificial intelligence security tools can save companies millions, the study claims.
Senior living and care facilities are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of attacks, the McKnight’s Tech Daily has reported. Companies are taking increased security measures, however, experts claim.
In one of the most recent incidents of hacking, HCA Healthcare was hit with four lawsuits this month over the leaking of patients’ information, such as names and contact information.
Another company that provides pharmacy services for long-term care, PharMerica, was sued after consumers found out the company had failed to notify customers of a data breach in a timely fashion.
In related news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission voted this week to require publicly traded companies to disclose hacking incidents, as a way of keeping both the public and investors informed about cybersecurity risks.
