"Ransomware Attacks on America's Health Care Systems More Than Doubled From 2016 to 2021, Exposing the Personal Health Information of Millions"
From 2016 to 2021, the annual number of ransomware attacks on healthcare provider organizations more than doubled, leaving the sensitive health information of around 42 million people exposed to threat actors. A new report from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum, indicates that ransomware attacks on healthcare providers are not only becoming more frequent, but also more severe, exposing greater quantities of Personal Health Information (PHI) and impacting large organizations with multiple healthcare facilities. Tracking Healthcare Ransomware Events and Traits (THREAT) is a database that allows researchers to track the occurrence of ransomware attacks against healthcare provider organizations. Although notable ransomware attacks on healthcare delivery organizations have gotten much media attention, there is no systematic tracking of the scope and impact of ransomware attacks on the healthcare system. In the first-ever comprehensive analysis of ransomware attacks on US healthcare providers, researchers determined that between 2016 and 2021, 374 ransomware attacks against healthcare delivery organizations compromised the PHI of about 42 million people. Annual ransomware attacks have more than doubled, from 43 to 91 each year. From around 1.3 million in 2016 to over 16.5 million in 2021, the number of persons whose PHI was compromised grew. In 166 ransomware-related occurrences, patient treatment was interrupted. Clinics were the most common targets of ransomware attacks among healthcare delivery organizations, followed by hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, mental/behavioral health facilities, dental offices, and post-acute care organizations. This article continues to discuss key findings from the analysis of ransomware attacks on US healthcare providers documented between 2016 and 2021.