Politico Analysis: Health Data Breaches Accelerated in 2021

Health data breaches have surged by 300% in the past three years, with almost 50 million Americans having their sensitive health data stolen in 2021 alone. A Politico analysis of HHS found that hackers hit healthcare providers and insurers in every state except South Dakota last year, with over 10% of citizens experiencing data breaches in nearly half of those.

According to Ben Leonard of Politico, “Experts say the increased hacking can be attributed to the health care industry’s rapid move to digital, particularly amid the Covid-19 pandemic; an increase in remote work, which allows more avenues for attacks with employees using more personal devices; the financially lucrative information for cybercriminals in health care; and greater awareness of attacks across the industry, thus more reporting.”

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(Source: Politico, March 23^rd, 2022)