BitsnBytes-Winter2024-2025

Bits & bytes Winter 2024-2025 4 Proactive Steps Can Mitigate Risks and Consequences of Data Breaches providing general notice to inform their patients and members. As reported by The Minnesota Star Tribune ( July 16, 2024), UHG anticipates the cyberattack to cost them $2.45 billion for 2024, which includes the company’s direct response to the breach and losses due to business disruption. Healthcare cybersecurity defenses lag behind other industries, partly due to difficulty attracting top talent, who often prefer high-paying sectors. The financial industry follows with an average breach cost of $5.9 million, while the pharmaceutical industry ranks third at $4.8 million. The vast and diverse data that healthcare organizations manage, as well as numerous vendor partnerships, make them particularly susceptible to attacks. “It’s a big attack surface, and it’s very diversified,” Kessem noted, highlighting the ongoing challenge of protecting such wide-range information. According to Kessem, cyberattacks and ransomware groups are becoming increasingly adept at infiltrating organizations. “They do it all day, every day, all day. They know everybody’s network. Sometimes they sit in networks for a while and they watch everything,” she said. Kessem emphasized the importance of organizations working with law enforcement when breaches occur, as it can significantly reduce costs and containment time. (Continued from page 1) Kessem’s report highlights that organizations engaging law enforcement during ransomware attacks saved $470,000 on average and reduced the containment period by 33 days. Despite these benefits, 33% of ransomware victims do not contact authorities and, as a result, they lose valuable time and resources. Detection of breaches remains a challenge across all sectors; one out of three breaches are identified by the organizations’ security teams, discovered by third parties, or informed by the cyberattack perpetrators. Kessem stressed that healthcare organizations, in particular, need to adopt comprehensive strategies to protect all types of patient data, including images. High engagement from top leadership is crucial for effective cybersecurity. Organizations with proactive executive teams driving cybersecurity initiatives tend to better protect data. Kessem said, “When they engage and take on cybersecurity projects, you see participation and hard work from senior management teams. So, it’s not just left just to the technical teams.” References: Snowbeck, C. (2024, July 16). Cyberattack costs growing at UnitedHealth Group, but profit still better than expected . The Minnesota Star Tribune. https://www.startribune.com/unitedhealth- cyberattack-change-healthcare-costs- profit/600381047?ref=metacurity.com Southwick, R. (2023, July 24). Average cost of healthcare data breach rises to nearly $11M . Chief Healthcare Executive. https://www. chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/average-cost- of-healthcare-data-breach-rises-to-nearly-11m To read the The Minnesota Star Tribune article, click here . To read the Chief Healthcare Executive article, click here . Bridgette Brashear Senior Director 713-350-3321 bridgette.brashear@alliantgroup.com www.alliantgroup.com