Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Ransomware And Other Hacks On The Rise For Healthcare Industry

From 2010 to 2024, healthcare data breach incidents in the United States rose significantly, with the total number of reported breaches increasing from 216 to 566—a 162% rise. Ransomware-involved cyberattacks across all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-covered entities increased from 0% of breaches in 2010 to 31% in 2021. However, by 2024, ransomware attacks more recently trended down to 11% of incidents (61 of the total 566 incidents for the year). Even more …

Another Reminder to be Vigilant for Ransomware Attack

Pharmaceutical giant Merck and Heritage Valley Health System are the latest healthcare organizations to be struck with a ransomware attack. The same event created havoc across Europe, as well. Electronic security experts point to a version of the Petya virus as the likely “pathogen.” While Merck was largely mum on how it fared, Heritage Valley said its network had “protections” put in place by its antivirus software vendor to ensure patient care was not disrupted. …

Secure Your Practice Against Cyberattacks: Video Post #2

Earlier this week, we brought you new data concerning ransomware cyberattacks on small businesses—and how to avoid falling prey to one. In the second segment of our three-part series, Randall Dennis, cybersecurity expert and COO of Guidance Partners, explains the various categories of cyberattacks and what steps you can take to thwart efforts to steal and exploit sensitive business and patient information. Dennis says cyberattacks on small and medium-sized businesses are on the rise, with over …

MedStar Ransomware Attack a Reminder: Guard Against System Outages

MedStar Health management thought the company was as prepared as it could be for computer system shutdowns. That bubble was burst when MedStar became the victim of a ransomware attack earlier this year, rendering its systems unusable for a time. The company had a corporate emergency plan, as well as a plan for each of its 10 hospitals and 250 outpatient clinics, but nothing that prepared it to handle all systems going down at once. …