Cyber Attacks Are Evolving; Your Cyber Risk Management Should Too

As massive storage centers of sensitive patient information and increasing dependence on technology, hospitals and health systems are prime targets for hackers. Healthcare organizations worldwide averaged 1,463 cyber attacks per week in 2022, up 74% compared with 2021. The average cost of each breach totaled $10 million, according to Check Point research.

Along with the escalation of cyber security threats to the healthcare industry, the sophistication of attacks is evolving. Medical devices and operating systems are increasingly interconnected via the Internet, hospital networks, other medical devices or smartphones, increasing vulnerabilities to cyber attacks.

The consequences of cyber incidents can be severe and range from compromised patient data and disrupted healthcare services to reputational damage and substantial financial loss. For instance, the recent breach on HCA Healthcare affected 1,400 of its facilities and impacted more than 11 million patients. The health system is now facing multiple class action lawsuits.

Cadence Insurance’s Cyber Insurance Practice and risk management solutions help healthcare organizations and providers prevent cyber attacks and improve overall cyber security. Our tailored cyber liability coverage assists in allowing healthcare organizations fund expenses resulting from cyber incidents including data recovery, legal fees, and regulatory fines.

We’ve partnered with specialized benchmarking firms to offer healthcare clients a deeper dive into their cyber risks by utilizing industry standards and best practices to assess hazards and illustrate their level of risk transfer and financial exposure. These resources can help healthcare organizations quantify cyber financial loss potentials, inform insurance limit purchasing decisions, identify emerging cyber threat scenarios, illustrate peer-to-peer risk transfer, and refine modeled results to reflect an organization’s specific internal security and operation exposures.

While cyber insurance is essential, most available services aid individuals and organizations recover following an incident. Our innovative, preventive services span the physical and digital world and are designed to assess and reduce risk proactively. The tools we employ monitor social media and the dark web for threats and alert members to potential issues such as disinformation and slander, social media account compromise, personal data and credentials exposure, and physical threats coordinated on both mainstream and under-the-radar online forums.

Cadence Insurance Cyber Insurance Practice Leader Gabrielle Bryant, M.Sc., ARM, stated, “With cyber attacks on the rise, costing the healthcare industry nearly $11M per breach on average, cyber liability insurance is more than protection; it's a necessary, purposeful stance that empowering organizations deploy to prioritize patient privacy and data security against a relentless tide of threats to ensure a resilient and trustworthy healthcare landscape.”

Bryant added that a robust cyber risk strategy for healthcare clients is akin to building a fortress around patient data.

“Just as a strong foundation is essential for a sturdy structure, a holistic risk management approach ensures data integrity, operational continuity and, ultimately, patient trust-cornerstones of a resilient healthcare system in a digital age,” Bryant said.

Cadence Insurance provides optimal cyber insurance solutions that help healthcare organizations prevent, prepare for, and respond to cyber risks. Let our experienced team help determine your exposures and coverage needs to keep your business safe and secure from cyber threats.