Ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations up 94%

By Naomi Diaz for Becker’s Hospital Review

Ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations globally increased by 94 percent year over year, according to a 2022 report from cybersecurity firm Sophos.

The report surveyed 5,600 IT professionals and included interviews with 381 healthcare IT professionals from 31 countries.

Five things to know:

1. In 2021, 66 percent of healthcare organizations said they had experienced a ransomware attack, up from 34 percent in 2020.
2. Sixty-one percent of healthcare organizations that suffered a ransomware attack paid the ransom; this is the highest percentage of any sector.
3. On average, after paying the ransom, healthcare organizations were only able to recover 65 percent of encrypted data.
4. Only 78 percent of healthcare organizations surveyed had a cyberinsurance policy.
5. Ninety-seven percent of healthcare organizations had upgraded their cybersecurity defenses.