"14 Million Patients Impacted by US Healthcare Data Breaches in 2024"

During a new study, security researchers at SonicWall found that over 14 million patients have been affected by data breaches caused by malware attacks on US healthcare organizations in 2024.  The researchers noted that most (91%) of these breaches have leveraged ransomware.  The researchers stated that the rapid adoption of digital tools, AI, and platforms has expanded the attack surface of healthcare organizations, resulting in a significant increase in ransomware attacks targeting this sector.  The researchers found that ransomware groups have targeted the healthcare sector by exploiting several critical vulnerabilities in 2024, enabling them to infiltrate networks, escalate privileges, and deploy ransomware.  Around 60% of vulnerabilities leveraged against healthcare so far in 2024 targeted Microsoft Exchange, a widely used communication tool in this industry.

Infosecurity Magazine reports: "14 Million Patients Impacted by US Healthcare Data Breaches in 2024"