{"id":22374,"date":"2022-11-03T23:47:47","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T06:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/blog\/?p=22374"},"modified":"2025-04-16T01:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T08:22:03","slug":"cyberattacks-hospitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/blog\/cyberattacks-hospitals\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Need to Know About Cyber Attacks on US Hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When we talk about cyber attack damages, we often calculate them in terms of monetary damages, reputational loss, and general inconvenience. However, when it comes to hospital cyber attacks, the repercussions could be much more deadly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospitals are a common target for digital attacks<\/strong> as they hold a lot of extremely valuable patient data. They\u2019re also very easy to attack as, despite the fact they need extra security to protect vulnerable patient data, they often lack the funds to implement strict safety measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the situation has been bad for a while now, COVID-19 put US hospitals at the bull\u2019s eye on cybercriminals\u2019 dartboard<\/strong>. We saw over 40 million US patient records compromised<\/a> in 2021 alone. This paints a rather gloomy picture for the future \u2014 unless we take appropriate measures to limit exposure to attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, just what damage do cyber attacks cause for US hospitals? Let\u2019s look into the causes and consequences of the increasing risks healthcare cybersecurity faces<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/h4>\nHow Widespread Are Hospital Ransomware Attacks?\n<\/a>
\nWhat Happens During A Cyber Attack on Hospitals?<\/a>
\nHow US Hospitals Can Prevent Cyber Attacks\n<\/a>
\nCyber Attacks on Hospitals Won\u2019t Slow Down Just Yet<\/a>
\nFAQ<\/a>

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How Widespread Are Hospital Ransomware Attacks?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ever since the first hospital ransomware attack in 1989, healthcare cyber attacks have been spreading like wildfire<\/strong> \u2014 picking up the pace during the COVID-19 pandemic. What started out as an attack carried out by an opportunist very quickly turned into a severe threat to the entire healthcare industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Guardian<\/a>, 41% of global hospital ransomware attacks affected US healthcare companies in 2021<\/strong>. HIMS<\/a> reported that just 600 known breaches exposed over 40 million patient records. This amounts to more than 22.6 million customers affected in 1 year alone. Possibly the most severe attack of all, Accellion FTA<\/a>, locked the data of more than 3 million people in one go.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do cybercriminals target hospitals specifically? Research suggests 61% of affected hospitals pay ransom<\/a> to restore access to their systems. It\u2019s an extremely high possibility hackers get what they want \u2014 which can be anything from $250,000 to $5 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ransomware is also very easy to distribute across multiple institutions<\/strong> at the same time. For example, Universal Health Services suffered a ransomware attack<\/a> in 2020 which locked the systems of over 400 hospitals in the US, Puerto Rico, and the UK. Despite the healthcare giant having all the IT resources it needed, it still took over a month to restore everything back up.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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