
The cybersecurity landscape in the healthcare sector is increasingly concerning, highlighted by two significant incidents. The hacking group Kill Security has claimed responsibility for breaching DarDoc, a health-tech startup based in the UAE, reportedly exfiltrating personally identifiable information such as names, birthdates, ID numbers, passport details, and residency information. Meanwhile, a cybersecurity event in September disrupted computer systems at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centers (TTUHSC) in El Paso and Lubbock, potentially compromising the personal information of several individuals. This incident is part of a broader trend, as health care data breaches have surged from two in 2010 to 721 in 2023. A government watchdog has noted that the Department of Health and Human Services has not audited healthcare providers' privacy compliance since 2017, raising concerns about the adequacy of current oversight. Last year, self-reported large health data breaches affected over 165 million individuals, which is approximately half of the U.S. population, suggesting that the actual number of breaches may be significantly higher without regular audits.
This is astonishing especially because self-reported large health data breaches hit an all-time high last year, impacting more than 165 million individuals — half the U.S. population. Imagine how much higher the number would be if OCR did regular audits. https://t.co/pXR8LAHACP
Large health care data breaches have skyrocketed from two incidents in 2010 to 721 breaches in 2023. And yet, government watchdog says @HHSGov has not audited health care providers privacy compliance since 2017 -- new from @brittanytrang: https://t.co/aORUn1l2sb via @statnews
ICYMI: Peoples' information may have been compromised after a cybersecurity event caused a major computer system disruption that impacted the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centers in El Paso and Lubbock back in September. https://t.co/WNFF5H5RhF