Healthcare organizations are facing a growing threat from ransomware attacks, with a new report finding that nearly 75% of organizations had their data encrypted in 2023. This is the highest rate of encryption in the past three years, and it represents a significant increase from the 61% of organizations that reported having their data encrypted in 2022.
The report, titled “The State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2023,” was published by Sophos, a cybersecurity firm. The report also found that the majority of healthcare organizations are not prepared to counter a ransomware attack. In 2023, only 24% of organizations were able to disrupt a ransomware attack before the attackers encrypted their data, compared to 34% in 2022. This is the lowest rate of disruption reported by the sector over the past three years.
Chester Wisniewski, director and field CTO at Sophos, said that the percentage of organizations that successfully stop an attack before encryption is a strong indication of security maturity. However, he also noted that the healthcare sector is lagging behind in this area, with only 24% of organizations able to do so. This number is also declining, suggesting that the sector is actively losing ground against cyber attackers and is increasingly unable to detect and stop an attack in progress.
The report’s findings highlight the need for to invest in cybersecurity measures and to develop a plan for responding to ransomware attacks. Healthcare organizations should also consider purchasing cyber insurance to help protect themselves from the financial losses that can result from a ransomware attack
