Hospital cyberattack costs, patient care disruptions up: 9 things to know

At hospitals and health systems, cyberattack costs and patient care disruptions were up in 2023, according to an Oct. 11 report.

Here are nine things to know from the second-annual healthcare cybersecurity survey from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint and the Ponemon Institute, an IT research group. They surveyed 653 health IT and cybersecurity professionals.

1. Eighty-eight percent of surveyed organizations experienced an average of 40 cyberattacks in the past 12 months.

2. The average cost of a cyberattack was $5 million, a 13% jump from the previous year.

3. The most expensive cost was for disruptions to normal healthcare operations, at an average of $1.3 million, a 30% increase.

4. Among organizations that experienced one of the four most common types of cyberattacks, 57% reported poor patient outcomes from delays in procedures and tests, 50% reported an increase in surgical complications, and 23% had increased patient mortality rates.

5. Fifty-four percent of organizations experienced a ransomware attack in 2023, up from 41% in 2022.

6. Forty percent of organizations paid ransom in 2023, down from 51% in 2022.

7. The average ransom payment increased nearly 30%, to $995,450.

8. The two biggest cybersecurity challenges were lack of expertise (58%) and insufficient staffing (50%).

9. The cyberthreat that concerns health IT professionals the most is a cloud compromise (68%).

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