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More healthcare organizations report experiencing ransomware attacks and say the attacks impact patient care.
A survey by the Ponemon Institute discovered that nearly half (47%) of organizations experienced a ransomware attack in the past two fiscal years.
With attacks continuing, more organizations are paying a ransom. Sixty-seven percent of respondents said their organization paid a ransom, up from 60% from the prior survey in FY 2021. Meanwhile, the average ransom payment increased from $282,675 to $352,541 in the past two years.
Additionally, ransomware attacks increased complications for medical procedures, according to the survey.
More than half of respondents, 53 percent, said a cyberattack disrupted patient care. The top three patient impacts reported were:
- An increase in patient transfers or diversion to other facilities.
- A longer stay for patients.
- Delays in procedures and tests.
“Ransomware continues to shut down hospital operations and disrupt care at an alarming rate,” Ed Gaudet, CEO and founder of Censinet, said in a statement accompanying the report.
The Value of Cybersecurity Benchmarking
As ransomware attacks increase, more organizations are taking steps to deal with disruptions. The survey found that 60% of respondents said their organizations have business continuity plans in the event of a ransomware attack, up from 54% in FY 2021.
And cybersecurity peer benchmarking plays an important role in helping organizations prepare.
According to the survey, peer benchmarking provided very valuable insight into demonstrating program effectiveness and improving cybersecurity programs.
Among the key findings on benchmarking:
- Benchmarking is very valuable in improving cybersecurity programs (52%)
- Benchmarking improves cybersecurity programs with data-driven decision-making (53%)
- Benchmarking is important to making the business case for hiring cyber staff (69%) and purchasing technologies (60%)
- Benchmarking is important when establishing cybersecurity program goals (67%)
Censinet, a cybersecurity firm, commissioned the survey. More than 570 IT professionals at healthcare organizations answered the survey in the fourth quarter of 2022.
