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Verizon Publishes Findings on Data Breaches in the Health Care Industry
December 20, 2012

A study conducted by the Verizon RISK Team, with cooperation from law enforcement agencies around the world, indicates that the number of data breaches in the health care industry is expected to rise. In this report, they highlight their findings and recommendations for health care organizations.

Among their findings: 

  • Seven percent of all data breaches occurred in the health care industry. 
  • Cybercriminals targeting health care organizations were more interested in Point of Sale systems and financial data, not electronic health records. 
  • Most health care organizations experiencing breaches fell into the small-to-medium business category (1 to 100 employees); outpatient care facilities such as medical and dental offices comprised the bulk of these. 
  • Most attacks were conducted by financially-motivated organized criminal groups; insider jobs comprised approximately 5 percent of the attacks. 
  • In the majority of cases, the attacker gained initial access by exploiting default or guessable credentials. 
  • Close to two-thirds of all breaches go on for months before the victim learns that they've been compromised.

Read the full report: Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report Health Care Industry Snapshot

Related Practices
Health Care Cybersecurity and Privacy
Related Industries
Health Care
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