In the past 12 months, 92% of healthcare organizations reported experiencing at least one cyberattack, up from 88% in 2023, an Oct. 8 survey from Proofpoint and Ponemon Institute found.
Of those cyberattacks, 69% reported disruptions to patient care as a direct consequence.
Five things to know from the survey:
- The survey contains insights from 648 information technology and security practitioners in U.S. healthcare organizations. Proofpoint is a cybersecurity and compliance company and Ponemon Institute is a IT security research organization.
- Among organizations hit by the four most common types of cyberattacks — cloud compromise, ransomware, supply chain breaches and business email compromise — 56% reported poor patient outcomes due to delays in procedures and tests. Additionally, 53% saw more medical complications, and 28% reported a rise in patient deaths, a 5% increase from last year.
- Supply chain attacks had the biggest impact on patient care, with 68% of respondents saying their organizations experienced such an attack. Of those, 82% reported disruptions to patient care, up from 77% in 2023.
- Business email compromise was the top attack linked to poor outcomes from delayed procedures and tests, affecting 69% of organizations, followed by ransomware at 61%.
- Ransomware was also most likely to cause longer hospital stays (58%) and lead to more patients being diverted or transferred to other facilities (52%).