The data stolen and sold may be enough for hackers to steal identities or any number of other nefarious activities,” he explains. “One of the reasons that healthcare is among the most targeted industries is that personal health records are the most highly valued on the black market. In healthcare, the stakes are much higher,” says Magner.
“In sectors such as banking or insurance, the worst outcome for the customer is largely the theft of personal data. Only a fraction of the total amount was covered by cyber insurance. “As of June 30th, we estimate total lost revenues to be $91.6 million and incremental costs incurred to address the cyber security incident and recovery were estimated at $21.1 million,” a Scripps earnings report said. Patient care was compromised for about a month until the damage was repaired, and several lawsuits seek compensation for non-protection of health records during that time. While the Alabama incident illustrates the worst-case scenario, the worst in terms of magnitude was a ransomware attack that shut down California’s Scripps Health hospital group last May. “Recent attacks from notorious gangs such as REvil or Conti on hospitals have accounted for 30% of all significant data breaches at an estimated cost of $21 billion in 2020 alone,” says Magner, citing an Ipsos survey, “ Perspectives in Healthcare Security Report” sponsored by CyberMDX and medical device maker Philips.
The average cost of each healthcare breach is $9 million. The Tel Aviv-based company finds that one in six US data breaches occurs in hospitals. “According to a recent report, a total of 82 ransomware incidents against the health sector have occurred in 2021 worldwide, with 60 percent of them impacting the United States,” Magner tells ISRAEL21c. Amir Magner, president and founder of CyberMDX.