Cyberattacks and data breaches continue to hold the primary position as the foremost present and future threat, both on a global scale and among C-suite leaders, a Nov. 7 survey from consulting firm Aon found. 

IT workers at an Idaho hospital worked all night on a recent Sunday night to thwart a cyberattack, the Rexburg Standard Journal reported.

Ransomware gang 8Base is emerging as a new threat to the U.S. healthcare sector after it attacked a medical facility in October, the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center warned in a Nov. 1 alert. 

In May, hackers targeting Louisville, Ky.-based Norton Healthcare posted personal health information on the dark web; local news outlet WDRB reported Nov. 6 that the health system is still dealing with the fallout. 

Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, N.Y., told patients to expect longer wait times than usual amid a system interruption affecting some services, according to the medical group's website.

Millions of patients at Chicago-based Cook County Health could have had their protected health information stolen as the health system's former medical transportation services firm, Perry Johnson & Associates, suffered a data breach, CBS News reported Nov. 3. 

Patients of Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care may be eligible for a piece of the $12.2 million settlement the health systems reached over the use of pixel tracking technology.

Doctors' Management Services, a medical management company based in West Bridgewater, Mass., agreed to pay HHS and the Office for Civil Rights a $100,000 settlement due to a ransomware attack that affected the protected health information of 206,695 individuals, marking the first ransomware agreement OCR has made.

Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System said it has begun reviewing the data that has been potentially impacted by an August cybersecurity incident on the health system. 

Vernon, Conn.-based Rockville General Hospital's parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, was hit by a cyberattack in August that exacerbated Rockville's financial struggles, the Hartford Courant reported Oct. 29.  

Iowa City-based University of Iowa Health Care is warning employees against the use of ChatGPT for its potential to violate HIPAA.

Ransomware attacks on healthcare have resulted in downtime-related losses of more than $77 billion for the U.S. economy, according to an Oct. 23 report from cybersecurity firm Comparitech. 

Healthcare facilities that use NextGen HealthCare's open-source data integration tool Mirth Connect have been urged to apply updates due to a flaw that could be exploited and compromise data, SC Media reported Oct. 26.

As healthcare ransomware attacks are climbing, the Cybersecurity and Infrastrucure Security Agency and HHS are providing a cybersecurity toolkit to hospitals.

Several hospitals and health systems across the U.S. are facing lawsuits regarding data breach incidents that involved patients' protected health information. 

In September, the healthcare industry saw a notable surge in ransomware incidents, with 18 attacks occurring, representing an 86% month-over-month rise compared to August, a Oct. 24 report from NCC Group found. 

Healthcare information technology security leaders from across the country have shared insights with Becker's regarding the most important steps for hospitals and health systems to take in preventing increased cybersecurity risks when working with third-party vendors.

Kingston, N.Y.-based HealthAlliance Hospital and Margaretville (N.Y.) Hospital are resuming emergency room admissions after a cyberattack caused them to divert ambulance services. 

HIPAA requires hospitals and health systems to sanction employees who don't comply with the healthcare privacy law, DataBreaches.net reported Oct. 20.

Kingston, N.Y.-based HealthAlliance Hospital and Margaretville (N.Y.) Hospital were hit by a cyberattack that has caused the temporary diversion of ambulances at HealthAlliance.