Healthcare Cyber Attacks Exploded During Pandemic

A recent report from CI Security found that cybercriminals have continued to take advantage of the fallout from COVID-19, according to Healthcare IT News. The report analyzed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services breach reports last year and found that the number of healthcare data breaches increased 36 percent in the second half of 2020 compared to the first half of the year.

According to analysts, 21.3 million healthcare records were breached in the second half of 2020 alone – with nearly three-quarters of all breaches tied to third parties.

The report found that COVID-19's disruptive effect on the industry – including employee churn, rapid scale-ups of telemedicine, testing and vaccine rollout technology, fast-tracked vendors, and more generalized attacks – have made healthcare organizations vulnerable to cybercrime.

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