Ransomware Attacks on U.S. Hospitals Have Doubled Since 2016
By Dennis Thompson
According to researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, ransomware attacks on U.S. health care systems surged from 43 in 2016 to 91 in 2021. Almost 42 million patients had their personal health information exposed as a result of these attacks. The study, published in JAMA Health Forum, found that care delivery was disrupted in around 44% of the attacks, by over a month in some instances. The researchers found that 58% of attacks were aimed at clinics, 22% at hospitals, 15% at outpatient surgical centers, 14% at mental health facilities, and 12% at dental offices. Lead researcher Hannah Neprash said, "A simple way of measuring an attack is how many individuals had their personal health information exposed in an attack, and that number has just gone through the roof. The average attack exposed maybe 37,000 in-patient records in 2016. And by 2021, you're up to about 230,000 per attack."
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