The March 2024 Healthcare Data Breach Report highlights a significant increase in healthcare data breaches, with 93 reported incidents involving breaches of 500 or more records, noted as a 50% monthly and a 41% annual increase. This surge was largely attributed to a strategic cyberattack on Ernest Health that involved separate reports for each of the 31 affected hospitals. Although the overall breach numbers were high, the total number of affected individuals continued a downward trend to the lowest since January 2023. The breaches predominantly involved major hacking incidents, including a significant breach at Risa's Dental and Braces, with less frequent occurrences of unauthorized access and theft. This trend underscores the ongoing vulnerabilities in healthcare data security, particularly through network and email compromises.
