18 numbers that show how big a threat ransomware is for healthcare

Here are 18 quick notes about ransomware in the healthcare industry:

1. Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount confirmed he paid $4.4 million in bitcoin to the cybercriminal gang DarkSide on the first day of its cyberattack on the company, but it still took six days to restore operations.
   
   
2. An attack on San Diego-based Scripps took the health system offline for about three weeks, resulting in patients having to go elsewhere for emergency services.
   
   
3. Allergy Partners brought its computer systems back online after hackers infected the clinic's systems for six weeks with ransomware and demanded $1.75 million in exchange for giving the clinic back its access to its encrypted data. 
   
   
4. A ransomware attack on CaptureRx affected 1,656,569 patients at more than 13 hospitals and healthcare providers.
   
   
5. The cost of cybersecurity insurance has risen by up to 30 percent since December as ransomware attacks spike.
   
   
6. Insurance brokers reported that 85 percent of insurance plans rose in price since December.
   
   
7. The take-up rate for existing clients electing coverage for cybersecurity rose from 26 percent in 2016 to 47 percent in 2020.
   
   
8. The average ransomware payment increased 43 percent in 2021.
   
   
9. The average ransom paid by healthcare companies was $910,335 in 2020.
   
   
10. As healthcare data breaches surged, so did ransom demands, with hackers asking for $4.6 million on average.
    
    
11. Ninety-one percent of healthcare data breaches are for financial gain, followed by fun (5 percent), espionage (4 percent) and a grudge against the company (1 percent).
    
    
12. DarkSide, the hacker group behind the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, racked up $90 million in bitcoin from ransom payments before shutting down.
    
    
13. In the first four months of 2021, 30 hospitals and health systems have reported to HHS that they were hit by data breaches.
    
    
14. In April, there were 2,121,186 health records breached at 41 organizations, according to HHS' data breach portal.
    
    
15. Those numbers doubled from the month preceding, where 1,116,997 health records were compromised in data breaches at 36 organizations.
    
    
16. A Verizon report found there were 655 confirmed data incidents and 472 confirmed data breaches in the healthcare industry in a 12-month time frame from November 2019 to October 2020.
    
    
17. The FBI issued a warning regarding Conti ransomware, which has been identified in at least 16 ransomware attacks on healthcare providers and first responders.
    
    
18. The federal government has launched at least six initiatives in the race to halt ransomware attacks on critical organizations, such as hospitals and fuel providers.