Reports of cyberattacks in the healthcare industry have increased, and patient care has suffered as a result, according to a 2024 survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute and Proofpoint, a cybersecurity and compliance company.

The surveyors queried 648 information technology and security practitioners across US healthcare organizations. They found that 92% of surveyed organizations had experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months, up from 88% in 2023. And 69% of respondents reported that the attacks had disrupted patient care.  

The four most common types of cyberattacks are cloud compromise, ransomware, supply chain compromise and business email compromise, according to Proofpoint. Among survey respondents that experienced those types of attacks, 56% reported that subsequent delays in procedures and tests resulted in poor patient outcomes. Another 53% reported a related increase in medical procedure complications, and 28% saw a related increase in patient mortality rates. 

“These findings indicate that healthcare organizations continue to struggle with mitigating the risks these attacks pose to patient safety and well-being,” Proofpoint stated. 

The survey also found that:

  • The most-attacked collaboration tool was text messaging (as reported by 61% of respondents).
  • Almost a third (31%) of organizations reported that “careless users” had caused data loss and exfiltration.
  • Most organizations (71%) said that they had implemented security awareness training to reduce their risks.

The wealth of data long-term care facilties hold and the special vulnerabilities of the populations they serve raises the stakes for those stakeholders when trying to ensure residents’ personal information is protected.

Nursing home residents are an attractive targets for cybercriminals, said Lance Reid, CEO of Telcion Communications Group, in an interview with McKnight’s. That, combined with the vast amount of personal information facilities, management companies and others in the sector creates a target-rich environment for bad actors, she said.