6 Unlike other data breaches, which often seek to steal data, ransomware attacks are purposefully designed to disrupt business operations, thereby motivating the attacked organization to make the demanded payment.Īlthough ransomware attacks have existed for years, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other government entities warn that widespread use of ransomware attacks against health care delivery organizations coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. 1, 2 Ransomware attacks are one cause of health care data breaches, which are becoming more common, 3 - 5 and are increasingly attributed to external causes (ie, hacking) rather than internal negligence or malfeasance (ie, misplaced laptops or inappropriately accessed data). ![]() Ransomware is a type of malicious software that prevents users from accessing their electronic systems and demands a ransom to restore access. ![]() Current monitoring/reporting efforts provide limited information and could be expanded to potentially yield a more complete view of how this growing form of cybercrime affects the delivery of health care.Īs health care delivery organizations have increased their reliance on health information technology, they have also increased their exposure to new cybersecurity risks, such as ransomware attacks. Ransomware attacks disrupt care delivery and jeopardize information integrity. From 2016 to 2021, ransomware attacks on health care delivery organizations increasingly affected large organizations with multiple facilities (annual marginal effect, 0.08 95% CI, 0.05-0.10 P < .001), exposed the PHI of more patients (ME, 66 385.8 95% CI, 3400.5-129 371.2 P = .04), were less likely to be restored from data backups (ME, −0.04 95% CI, −0.06 to −0.01 P = .002), were more likely to exceed mandatory reporting timelines (ME, 0.06 95% CI, 0.03-0.08 P < .001), and increasingly were associated with delays or cancellations of scheduled care (ME, 0.02 95% CI, 0-0.05 P = .02).Ĭonclusions and Relevance This cohort study of ransomware attacks documented growth in their frequency and sophistication. Almost half (166 ) of ransomware attacks disrupted the delivery of health care, with common disruptions including electronic system downtime (156 ), cancellations of scheduled care (38 ), and ambulance diversion (16 ). From 2016 to 2021, the annual number of ransomware attacks more than doubled from 43 to 91. Results From January 2016 to December 2021, 374 ransomware attacks on US health care delivery organizations exposed the PHI of nearly 42 million patients. Main Outcomes and Measures Date of ransomware attack, public reporting of ransomware attacks, personal health information (PHI) exposure, status of encrypted/stolen data following the attack, type of health care delivery organization affected, and operational disruption during the ransomware attack. Logistic and negative binomial regression quantified changes over time in the characteristics of ransomware attacks that affected health care delivery organizations. Objective To quantify the frequency and characteristics of ransomware attacks on health care delivery organizations.ĭesign, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used data from the Tracking Healthcare Ransomware Events and Traits database to examine the number and characteristics of ransomware attacks on health care delivery organizations from 2016 to 2021. Importance Anecdotal evidence suggests that health care delivery organizations face a growing threat from ransomware attacks that are designed to disrupt care delivery and may consequently threaten patient outcomes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |