Healthcare cybersecurity: The urgency of now

Healthcare exists at the intersection of trust and vulnerability. Every medical record, test result, and insurance claim is more than just data on a computer; it represents a person’s identity, medical history, and, in many cases, the road to care. For years, I’ve warned in papers and briefings that the healthcare sector is particularly vulnerable. The most recent figures confirm that warning: healthcare breaches remain among the most common and costly in any business, and the gap between where healthcare security is and where it needs to be is expanding.

In 2024, US healthcare firms reported 588 breaches involving approximately 180 million people, with an average of more than 750,000 records exposed every day. Each of these data identifies a patient who is at danger of identity theft, financial fraud, or delayed care.

The financial repercussions are similarly severe. According to IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the typical healthcare breach in the United States costs $7.42 million. That is significantly lower than the $9.36 million reported in 2024, but it is still more than 60% more than the worldwide average across industries. For the fifteenth year in a row, healthcare has the highest breach costs of any sector. 

Read more at Forbes