We have compiled healthcare data breach statistics from October 2009, when the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights first started publishing summaries of healthcare data breaches on its website, until June 30, 2022.
The healthcare data breach statistics below only include data breaches of 500 or more records that have been reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), as details of smaller breaches are not made public by OCR. The breaches include closed cases and breaches still being investigated by OCR for potential HIPAA violations.
Our healthcare data breach statistics clearly show there has been an upward trend in data breaches over the past 10 years, with 2021 seeing more data breaches reported than any other year since records first started being published by OCR.
There have also been notable changes over the years in the main causes of breaches. The loss/theft of healthcare records and electronic protected health information dominated the breach reports between 2009 and 2015. Better policies and procedures and the use of encryption have helped reduce these easily preventable breaches. Our healthcare data breach statistics show the main causes of healthcare data breaches are now hacking/IT incidents, with unauthorized access/disclosure incidents also commonplace.
3 Steps To HIPAA Compliance
Please see HIPAA Journal
privacy policy
- Step 1 : Download Checklist.
- Step 2 : Review Your Business.
- Step 3 : Get Compliant!
The HIPAA Journal compliance checklist provides the top priorities for your organization to become fully HIPAA compliant.
Healthcare Data Breaches by Year
Between 2009 and 2021, 4,419 healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records have been reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. Those breaches have resulted in the loss, theft, exposure, or impermissible disclosure of 314,063,186 healthcare records. That equates to more than 94.63% of the 2021 population of the United States. In 2018, healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records were being reported at a rate of around 1 per day. Fast forward 4 years and the rate has doubled. In 2021, an average of 1.95 healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records were reported each day.
Healthcare Records Exposed by Year
There has been a general upward trend in the number of records exposed each year, with a massive increase in 2015. 2015 was the worst year in history for breached healthcare records with more than 113.27 million records exposed, stolen, or impermissibly disclosed. 2015 was particularly bad due to three massive data breaches at health plans: Anthem Inc, Premera Blue Cross, and Excellus.
Average/Median Healthcare Data Breach Size by Year
Largest Healthcare Data Breaches (2009-2022)
Rank | Name of Covered Entity | Year | Covered Entity Type | Individuals Affected | Type of Breach |
1 | Anthem Inc. | 2015 | Health Plan | 78,800,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
2 | American Medical Collection Agency | 2019 | Business Associate | 26,059,725 | Hacking/IT Incident |
3 | Premera Blue Cross | 2015 | Health Plan | 11,000,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
4 | Excellus Health Plan, Inc. | 2015 | Health Plan | 10,000,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
5 | Science Applications International Corporation (SA | 2011 | Business Associate | 4,900,000 | Loss |
6 | University of California, Los Angeles Health | 2015 | Healthcare Provider | 4,500,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
7 | Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporations | 2014 | Business Associate | 4,500,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
8 | Advocate Health and Hospitals Corporation, d/b/a Advocate Medical Group | 2013 | Healthcare Provider | 4,029,530 | Theft |
9 | Medical Informatics Engineering | 2015 | Business Associate | 3,900,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
10 | Banner Health | 2016 | Healthcare Provider | 3,620,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
11 | Florida Healthy Kids Corporation | 2021 | Health Plan | 3,500,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
12 | Trinity Health | 2020 | Business Associate | 3,320,726 | Hacking/IT Incident |
13 | Newkirk Products, Inc. | 2016 | Business Associate | 3,466,120 | Hacking/IT Incident |
14 | 20/20 Eye Care Network, Inc | 2021 | Business Associate | 3,253,822 | Hacking/IT Incident |
15 | Dominion Dental Services, Inc., Dominion National Insurance Company, and Dominion Dental Services USA, Inc. | 2019 | Health Plan | 2,964,778 | Hacking/IT Incident |
16 | AccuDoc Solutions, Inc. | 2018 | Business Associate | 2,652,537 | Hacking/IT Incident |
17 | Forefront Dermatology, S.C. | 2021 | Healthcare Provider | 2,413,553 | Hacking/IT Incident |
18 | 21st Century Oncology | 2016 | Healthcare Provider | 2,213,597 | Hacking/IT Incident |
19 | Shields Health Care Group, Inc. | 2022 | Business Associate | 2,000,000 | Hacking/IT Incident |
20 | Xerox State Healthcare, LLC | 2014 | Business Associate | 2,000,000 | Unauthorized Access/Disclosure |
21 | IBM | 2011 | Business Associate | 1,900,000 | Unknown |
22 | Dental Care Alliance, LLC | 2021 | Business Associate | 1,723,375 | Hacking/IT Incident |
23 | GRM Information Management Services | 2011 | Business Associate | 1,700,000 | Theft |
24 | NEC Networks, LLC d/b/a CaptureRx | 2021 | Business Associate | 1,656,569 | Hacking/IT Incident |
25 | Inmediata Health Group, Corp. | 2019 | Healthcare Clearing House | 1,565,338 | Unauthorized Access/Disclosure |
These figures are calculated based on the reporting entity. When a data breach occurs at a business associate, it may be reported by each affected covered entity rather than the business associate, or the business associate may report the breach, with certain covered entities choosing to report the breach themselves. For instance, in 2022, The electronic health record provider, Eye Care Leaders, suffered a ransomware attack. Each covered entity reported the breach separately. HIPAA Journal has tracked the breach reports and at least 39 HIPAA-covered entities are known to have been affected, and the records of more than 3.09 million individuals was exposed. Similarly, a major data breach occurred at American Medical Collection Agency in 2019 that was reported by each covered entity, rather than AMCA. That breach affected more than 25 million individuals. Certain business associate data breaches will therefore not be accurately reflected in the above table.
Healthcare Hacking Incidents by Year
Our healthcare data breach statistics show hacking is now the leading cause of healthcare data breaches, although it should be noted that healthcare organizations are now much better at detecting hacking incidents. The low number of hacking/IT incidents in the earlier years could be partially due to the failure to detect hacking incidents and malware infections. Many of the hacking incidents between 2014-2018 occurred many months, and in some cases years, before they were detected.
Unauthorized Access/Disclosures by Year
As with hacking, healthcare organizations are getting better at detecting insider breaches and reporting those breaches to the Office for Civil Rights. These incidents consist of errors by employees, negligence, and acts by malicious insiders. The number of reported breaches appears to have now plateaued.
Loss/Theft of PHI and Unencrypted ePHI by Year
Our healthcare data breach statistics show that HIPAA-covered entities and business associates have gotten significantly better at protecting healthcare records with administrative, physical, and technical controls such as encryption, although unencrypted laptops and other electronic devices are still being left unsecured in vehicles and locations accessible by the public. Many of these theft/loss incidents involve paper records, which can equally result in the exposure of large amounts of patient information.
Improper Disposal of PHI/ePHI by Year
HIPAA requires healthcare data, whether in physical or electronic form, to be permanently destroyed when no longer required. The improper disposal of PHI is a relatively infrequent breach cause and typically involves paper records that have not been sent for shredding or have been abandoned.
Healthcare Data Breaches by HIPAA-Regulated Entity Type
Listed below are the healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records by the entity that reported the breaches. It should be noted that data breaches at business associated may be self-reported, but could be reported by each affected covered entity. The number of data breaches at business associates has been increasing, even not taking this reporting discrepancy into account. The table below shows the data breaches by the reporting entity.
Year | Healthcare Provider | Health Plan | Business Associate | Healthcare Clearinghouse | Total |
2009 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
2010 | 134 | 21 | 44 | 0 | 199 |
2011 | 134 | 19 | 45 | 1 | 199 |
2012 | 155 | 23 | 40 | 1 | 219 |
2013 | 191 | 20 | 64 | 2 | 277 |
2014 | 196 | 41 | 77 | 0 | 314 |
2015 | 195 | 61 | 14 | 0 | 270 |
2016 | 256 | 51 | 22 | 0 | 329 |
2017 | 285 | 52 | 21 | 0 | 358 |
2018 | 273 | 53 | 42 | 0 | 368 |
2019 | 398 | 59 | 53 | 2 | 512 |
2020 | 497 | 70 | 73 | 2 | 642 |
2021 | 515 | 104 | 93 | 2 | 714 |
2022 | 249 | 42 | 56 | 2 | 347 |
Total | 3,492 | 617 | 647 | 10 | 4,766 |
OCR Settlements and Fines for HIPAA Violations
The penalties for HIPAA violations can be severe. Multi-million-dollar fines are possible when violations have been allowed to persist for several years or when there is systemic noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules.
The penalty structure for HIPAA violations is detailed in the infographic below. These figures are adjusted annually for inflation.
OCR Settlements and Fines Over the Years
Further information on HIPAA fines and settlements can be viewed on our HIPAA violation fines page, which details all HIPAA violation fines imposed by OCR between 2008 and 2021. As the graph below shows, HIPAA enforcement activity has steadily increased over the past 14 years. The major rise in HIPAA violation penalties in 2020 was largely due to a new enforcement initiative by OCR targeting non-compliance with the HIPAA Right of Access – the right of patients to access and obtain a copy of their healthcare data. 11 settlements were reached with healthcare providers in 2020 to resolve cases where patients were not given timely access to their medical records, and in 2021 all but two of the 14 penalties were for HIPAA Right of Access violations.
How Much Has OCR Fined HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates?
In addition to an increase in fines and settlements, penalty amounts increased considerably between 2015 and 2018. In 2018, the largest ever financial penalty for HIPAA violations was paid by Anthem Inc to resolve potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule that were discovered by OCR during the investigation of its 78.8 million record data breach in 2015. Anthem paid $16 million to settle the case. In 2020, Premera Blue Cross settled potential violations of the HIPAA Rules and paid a $6,850,000 penalty to resolve its 2015 data breach of the PHI of almost 10.5 million individuals, and in 2021 a $5,000,000 settlement was agreed upon with Excellus Health Plan to resolve HIPAA violations identified that contributed to its 2015 data breach of the PHI of almost 9.4 million individuals.
While large financial penalties are still imposed to resolve HIPAA violations, the trend has been for smaller penalties to be issued in recent years, with those penalties imposed on healthcare organizations of all sizes.
It was expected that 2018 would see fewer fines for HIPAA-covered entities than in the past two years due to HHS budget cuts, but that did not prove not to be the case. 2018 was a record-breaking year for HIPAA fines and settlements, beating the previous record of $23,505,300 set in 2016 by 22%. OCR received payments totaling $28,683,400 in 2018 from HIPAA-covered entities and business associates who had violated HIPAA Rules and 2020 saw a major increase in enforcement activity with 19 settlements. The number of financial penalties reduced in 2021; however, 2022 has seen penalties increase, with 17 penalties announced by OCR so far in 2022.
OCR Penalties for HIPAA Violations (2008-August 2022)
Year | Covered Entity | Amount | Penalty Type |
2022 | New England Dermatology and Laser Center | $300,640 | Settlement |
2022 | ACPM Podiatry | $100,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2022 | Memorial Hermann Health System | $240,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Southwest Surgical Associates | $65,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Hillcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation | $55,000 | Settlement |
2022 | MelroseWakefield Healthcare | $55,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Erie County Medical Center Corporation | $50,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Fallbrook Family Health Center | $30,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Associated Retina Specialists | $22,500 | Settlement |
2022 | Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat | $20,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Lawrence Bell, Jr. D.D.S | $5,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Danbury Psychiatric Consultants | $3,500 | Settlement |
2022 | Oklahoma State University – Center for Health Sciences | $875,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Dr. Brockley | $30,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Jacob & Associates | $28,000 | Settlement |
2022 | Dr. U. Phillip Igbinadolor, D.M.D. & Associates, P.A. | $50,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2022 | Northcutt Dental-Fairhope | $62,500 | Settlement |
2021 | Advanced Spine & Pain Management | $32,150 | Settlement |
2021 | Denver Retina Center | $30,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Dr. Robert Glaser | $100,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2021 | Rainrock Treatment Center LLC (dba monte Nido Rainrock) | $160,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Wake Health Medical Group | $10,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Children’s Hospital & Medical Center | $80,000 | Settlement |
2021 | The Diabetes, Endocrinology & Lipidology Center, Inc. | $5,000 | Settlement |
2021 | AEON Clinical Laboratories (Peachstate) | $25,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Village Plastic Surgery | $30,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Arbour Hospital | $65,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Sharpe Healthcare | $70,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Renown Health | $75,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Excellus Health Plan | $5,100,000 | Settlement |
2021 | Banner Health | $200,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Peter Wrobel, M.D., P.C., dba Elite Primary Care | $36,000 | Settlement |
2020 | University of Cincinnati Medical Center | $65,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Dr. Rajendra Bhayani | $15,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Riverside Psychiatric Medical Group | $25,000 | Settlement |
2020 | City of New Haven, CT | $202,400 | Settlement |
2020 | Aetna | $1,000,000 | Settlement |
2020 | NY Spine | $100,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Dignity Health, dba St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center | $160,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Premera Blue Cross | $6,850,000 | Settlement |
2020 | CHSPSC LLC | $2,300,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Athens Orthopedic Clinic PA | $1,500,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Housing Works, Inc. | $38,000 | Settlement |
2020 | All Inclusive Medical Services, Inc. | $15,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Beth Israel Lahey Health Behavioral Services | $70,000 | Settlement |
2020 | King MD | $3,500 | Settlement |
2020 | Wise Psychiatry, PC | $10,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity | $1,040,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Metropolitan Community Health Services dba Agape Health Services | $25,000 | Settlement |
2020 | Steven A. Porter, M.D | $100,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Jackson Health System | $2,154,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2019 | Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services | $1,600,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2019 | University of Rochester Medical Center | $3,000,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Touchstone Medical imaging | $3,000,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Sentara Hospitals | $2,175,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Medical Informatics Engineering | $100,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Korunda Medical, LLC | $85,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Bayfront Health St. Petersburg | $85,000 | Settlement |
2019 | West Georgia Ambulance | $65,000 | Settlement |
2019 | Elite Dental Associates | $10,000 | Settlement |
2018* | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | $4,348,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2018 | Anthem Inc | $16,000,000 | Settlement |
2018 | Fresenius Medical Care North America | $3,500,000 | Settlement |
2018 | Massachusetts General Hospital | $515,000 | Settlement |
2018 | Brigham and Women’s Hospital | $384,000 | Settlement |
2018 | Boston Medical Center | $100,000 | Settlement |
2018 | Filefax, Inc. | $100,000 | Settlement |
2017 | Children’s Medical Center of Dallas | $3,200,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2017 | Memorial Healthcare System | $5,500,000 | Settlement |
2017 | Cardionet | $2,500,000 | Settlement |
2017 | Memorial Hermann Health System | $2,400,000 | Settlement |
2017 | 21st Century Oncology | $2,300,000 | Settlement |
2017 | MAPFRE Life Insurance Company of Puerto Rico | $2,200,000 | Settlement |
2017 | Presense Health | $475,000 | Settlement |
2017 | Metro Community Provider Network | $400,000 | Settlement |
2017 | St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center Inc. | $387,000 | Settlement |
2017 | The Center for Children’s Digestive Health | $31,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Lincare, Inc. | $239,800 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2016 | Advocate Health Care Network | $5,550,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Feinstein Institute for Medical Research | $3,900,000 | Settlement |
2016 | University of Mississippi Medical Center | $2,750,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Oregon Health & Science University | $2,700,000 | Settlement |
2016 | New York Presbyterian Hospital | $2,200,000 | Settlement |
2016 | St. Joseph Health | $2,140,500 | Settlement |
2016 | North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota | $1,550,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A. of North Carolina | $750,000 | Settlement |
2016 | University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) | $650,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia | $650,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Care New England Health System | $400,000 | Settlement |
2016 | Complete P.T., Pool & Land Physical Therapy, Inc. | $25,000 | Settlement |
2015 | Triple S Management Corporation | $3,500,000 | Settlement |
2015 | Lahey Hospital and Medical Center | $850,000 | Settlement |
2015 | University of Washington Medicine | $750,000 | Settlement |
2015 | Cancer Care Group, P.C. | $750,000 | Settlement |
2015 | St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center | $218,400 | Settlement |
2015 | Cornell Prescription Pharmacy | $125,000 | Settlement |
2014 | New York and Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University | $4,800,000 | Settlement |
2014 | Concentra Health Services | $1,725,220 | Settlement |
2014 | Parkview Health System, Inc. | $800,000 | Settlement |
2014 | QCA Health Plan, Inc., of Arkansas | $250,000 | Settlement |
2014 | Skagit County, Washington | $215,000 | Settlement |
2014 | Anchorage Community Mental Health Services | $150,000 | Settlement |
2013 | WellPoint | $1,700,000 | Settlement |
2013 | Affinity Health Plan, Inc. | $1,215,780 | Settlement |
2013 | Idaho State University | $400,000 | Settlement |
2013 | Shasta Regional Medical Center | $275,000 | Settlement |
2013 | Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C. | $150,000 | Settlement |
2012 | Alaska DHSS | $1,700,000 | Settlement |
2012 | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates, Inc. | $1,500,000 | Settlement |
2012 | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee | $1,500,000 | Settlement |
2012 | Phoenix Cardiac Surgery | $100,000 | Settlement |
2012 | The Hospice of Northern Idaho | $50,000 | Settlement |
2011 | Cignet Health of Prince George’s County | $4,300,000 | Civil Monetary Penalty |
2011 | General Hospital Corp. & Massachusetts General Physicians Organization Inc. | $1,000,000 | Settlement |
2011 | University of California at Los Angeles Health System | $865,500 | Settlement |
2010 | Rite Aid Corporation | $1,000,000 | Settlement |
2010 | Management Services Organization Washington Inc. | $35,000 | Settlement |
2009 | CVS Pharmacy Inc. | $2,250,000 | Settlement |
2008 | Providence Health & Services | $100,000 | Settlement |
*In 2021, following an appeal, the civil monetary penalty imposed on the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center by the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights was vacated.
State Attorneys General HIPAA Fines and Other Financial Penalties for Healthcare Organizations
State attorneys general can bring actions against HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates for violations of the HIPAA Rules. Penalties range from $100 per HIPAA violation up to a maximum of $25,000 per violation category, per year.
Only a handful of U.S. states have imposed penalties for HIPAA violations; however, that changed in 2019 when many state Attorneys General started participating in multistate actions against HIPAA-covered entities and business associates that experienced major data breaches and were found not to be in compliance with the HIPAA Rules.
The penalties detailed below have been imposed by state attorneys general for HIPAA violations and violations of state laws. It is common for penalties to be imposed solely for violations of state laws, even though there are corresponding HIPAA violations.
Attorneys General HIPAA Fines(2008-July 2022)
Year | State | Covered Entity | Amount |
2022 | New York | EyeMed Vision Care | $600,000 |
2021 | New Jersey | Regional Cancer Care Associates (Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC, RCCA MSO LLC, and RCCA MD LLC) | $425,000 |
2021 | New Jersey | Regional Cancer Care Associates (Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC, RCCA MSO LLC, and RCCA MD LLC) | $425,000 |
2021 | New Jersey | Diamond Institute for Infertility and Menopause | $495,000 |
2021 | Multistate | American Medical Collection Agency | $21 million (suspended) |
2020 | Multistate | CHSPSC LLC | $5,000,000 |
2020 | Multistate | Anthem Inc. | $39.5 million |
2020 | California | Anthem Inc. | $8.7 million |
2019 | Multistate | Premera Blue Cross | $10,000,000 |
2019 | Multistate | Medical Informatics Engineering | $900,000 |
2019 | California | Aetna | $935,000 |
2018 | Massachusetts | McLean Hospital | $75,000 |
2018 | New Jersey | EmblemHealth | $100,000 |
2018 | New Jersey | Best Transcription Medical | $200,000 |
2018 | Connecticut | Aetna | $99,959 |
2018 | New Jersey | Aetna | $365,211.59 |
2018 | District of Columbia | Aetna | $175,000 |
2018 | Massachusetts | UMass Memorial Medical Group / UMass Memorial Medical Center | $230,000 |
2018 | New York | Arc of Erie County | $200,000 |
2018 | New Jersey | Virtua Medical Group | $417,816 |
2018 | New York | EmblemHealth | $575,000 |
2018 | New York | Aetna | $1,150,000 |
2017 | California | Cottage Health System | $2,000,000 |
2017 | Massachusetts | Multi-State Billing Services | $100,000 |
2017 | New Jersey | Horizon Healthcare Services Inc., | $1,100,000 |
2017 | Vermont | SAManage USA, Inc. | $264,000 |
2017 | New York | CoPilot Provider Support Services, Inc | $130,000 |
2015 | New York | University of Rochester Medical Center | $15,000 |
2015 | Connecticut | Hartford Hospital/ EMC Corporation | $90,000 |
2014 | Massachusetts | Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island | $150,000 |
2014 | Massachusetts | Boston Children’s Hospital | $40,000 |
2014 | Massachusetts | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | $100,000 |
2013 | Massachusetts | Goldthwait Associates | $140,000 |
2012 | MN | AccretiveHealth | $2,500,000 |
2012 | Massachusetts | South Shore Hospital | $750,000 |
2011 | Vermont | Health Net Inc. | $55,000 |
2011 | Indiana | WellPoint Inc. | $100,000 |
2010 | Connecticut | Health Net Inc. | $250,000 |
Healthcare Data Breach Statistics FAQs
How does the number of data breaches in the healthcare sector compare with other sectors?
An analysis of data breaches recorded on the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse database between 2015 and 2019 showed that 76.59% of all recorded data breaches were in the healthcare sector. This implies the healthcare sector recorded three times as many data breaches as the education, finance, retail, and government sectors combined.
Why are there so many more data breaches in the healthcare sector than in other sectors?
Healthcare data is more valuable on the black market than financial data because financial data is shut down quickly before cybercriminals can make use of it, whereas healthcare data can be used to commit identity theft for much longer. Additionally, organizations in the healthcare sector tend to have larger databases – making them more attractive targets.
It is also the case that organizations in the healthcare sector have stricter breach notification requirements than in other sectors. Certain types of breaches (i.e., ransomware attacks) have to be reported even if it cannot be established data has been compromised. The increasing number of recent ransomware attacks may have influenced the healthcare data breach statistics.
Why has the average HIPAA penalty decreased since 2018 despite increases in the number of breaches and median breach size?
Since 2019, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has been running a right of access initiative to clamp down on providers who fail to provide patients with access to their PHI within the thirty days allowed. Because penalties for right of access failures are less than for high volume data breaches, this has resulted in a decrease in the average HIPAA penalty in recent years.
If a healthcare professional discloses PHI without authorization, is this included in the healthcare data breach statistics?
Because the healthcare data breach statistics are compiled from breaches involving 500 or more records, individual unauthorized disclosures of PHI are not included in the figures. However, if the unauthorized disclosure is investigated by OCR and found to be attributable to willful neglect, any subsequent fines will be included in the settlement statistics.
How can healthcare organizations mitigate data breaches?
There are multiple steps healthcare organizations can take to mitigate data breaches. The most effective step is to encrypt protected health information to render it unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable in the event of a ransomware attack. This will ensure data is not compromised and the attack will not have to be reported to the Office for Civil Rights.
Other steps include implementing two-factor authentication on privileged accounts to mitigate the consequences of credential theft, running checks on all storage volumes (cloud and on-premises) to ensure appropriate permissions are applied, checking network connections for unauthorized open ports, and eliminating Shadow IT environments developed as workarounds,
3 Steps To HIPAA Compliance
Please see HIPAA Journal
privacy policy
- Step 1 : Download Checklist.
- Step 2 : Review Your Business.
- Step 3 : Get Compliant!
The HIPAA Journal compliance checklist provides the top priorities for your organization to become fully HIPAA compliant.
FAQs
Was there a data breach in 2022? ›
The most recent known data breach came to light on August 25, when a report detailed an extended phishing campaign on the part of the 0ktapus hacker group. This ongoing series of attacks has already compromised over 130 companies, including Cloudflare, Doordash, and Twilio.
What are the recent data breaches? ›- DoorDash Data Breach Exposed Some Personal Customer Data. ...
- Hackers may have breached medical billing records of nearly 1 million CNY patients. ...
- Twilio hackers breached over 130 organizations during months-long hacking spree. ...
- Plex warns users to reset passwords after a data breach.
Each covered entity reported the breach separately. HIPAA Journal has tracked the breach reports and at least 39 HIPAA-covered entities are known to have been affected, and the records of more than 3.09 million individuals was exposed.
What is the largest data breach to date? ›Data breached: 3 billion user accounts
According to data breach statistics, the largest data breach in history is the one that Yahoo! suffered for several years. Not only is it the biggest breach according to the number of affected users, but it also feels like the most massive one because of all the headlines.
DoorDash hit by data breach linked to Twilio hackers
In a blog post shared with TechCrunch ahead of its publication at market close, DoorDash said malicious hackers stole credentials from employees of a third-party vendor that were then used to gain access to some of DoorDash's internal tools.
The most recent Netflix data breach happened in October 2021, when a Netflix employee leaked commercially sensitive company data in protest of Dave Chappelle's special, The Closer.
What company just got hacked in 2022? ›In April of 2022, Ronin reported that they were hacked for $540 Million. Not only did they lose that money, but they also had to reimburse their customers for the amount they lost. This is the second biggest crypto hack of all time, and is sure to not be the last.
What are the most hacked websites? ›- 1. Yahoo – 3,000,000,000 records lost. ...
- River City Media – 1,370,000,000 records lost. ...
- Aadhaar – 1,100,000,000 records lost. ...
- Spambot – 711,000,000 records lost. ...
- 5. Facebook – 533,000,000 records lost. ...
- Syniverse – 500,000,000 records lost. ...
- 7. Yahoo – 500,000,000 records lost.
Data Security Operations Personnel
Personnel who manage IT security operations on a day-to-day basis are the most likely to make mistakes that result in a data breach. According to a 2014 report, 95 percent of all cyber security incidents occur as a result of human error.
In December 2021, most healthcare data breaches in the United States happened as a result of hacking or IT-related incidents. The number of such cases was 46 in the examined month. The next most common cause for data breaches was unauthorized access or disclosure, in 5 cases.
How many hospitals have been hacked 2021? ›
In 2020 and 2021, there were at least 168 ransomware attacks affecting 1,763 clinics, hospitals and health care organizations in the U.S., according to Brett Callow, a threat analyst for cybersecurity company Emsisoft.
How many data breaches were there in the health care industry in the most recent year? ›Last year, 493 providers reported a data breach, down by about 4% from 515 in 2020. Hacking/IT incidents continue to be the most common cause of breaches with an increase of 10% in 2021.
Which company had the largest breach? ›In October 2017, Yahoo's parent company Verizon revised the estimate upwards, stating that all three billion user accounts had been affected, confirming it as the biggest data breach to date.
What type of information is the most frequently exposed in a data breach? ›Common data breach exposures include personal information, such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and healthcare histories, as well as corporate information, such as customer lists and source code.
What country has the most data breaches? ›- The United States of America (212.4M).
- Iran (156.1M).
- India (86.6M).
- Russia (27M).
- France (24.6M).
- Comcast (1.5 billion)
- Brazilian resident data leak (660 million)
- Facebook (533 million)
- LinkedIn (500 million)
- Bykea (400 million)
6. LinkedIn Data Breach (2021) Data associated with 700 million LinkedIn users was posted for sale in a Dark Web forum on June 2021. This exposure impacted 92% of the total LinkedIn user base of 756 million users.
What is the biggest cyber crime? ›- A Byte Out of History: $10 Million Hack. A Russian's hacking of a U.S. bank in 1994 may have been the first online bank robbery. ...
- Botnet Operation Disabled. ...
- Cyber Criminal Forum Taken Down. ...
- International Cyber Ring That Infected Millions of Computers Dismantled. ...
- Melissa Virus. ...
- Morris Worm. ...
- Operation Innocent Images.
The breach affected 76.6 million people in the United States, according to the company. It exposed highly sensitive data, including customers' first and last names, Social Security numbers and driver's license information.
Has there been a Google breach? ›The bug, despite having been fixed immediately, exposed the private data of approximately 500,000 Google+ users to the public. Google did not reveal the leak to the network's users. In November 2018, another data breach occurred following an update to the Google+ API.
What banks have been hacked recently? ›
[ Keep up on the latest thought leadership, insights, how-to, and analysis on IT through Computerworld's newsletters. ] According to Breeden, the affected banks are Premier Bank, Wakulla Bank and Capital City Bank, all small, regional banks based in Florida.