The cost of a healthcare data breach is averaging nearly $11 million as hackers realize the value of the information stored by hospitals and health systems, a July 24 IBM report found.
Breach costs for healthcare have increased 53.3 percent since 2020 and now average $10.93 million each, nearly double the second most costly industry (financial), according to the study. Those costs surpassed $10 million for the first time in 2022, when they stood at $10.1 million.
"Cybercriminals have started making stolen data more accessible to downstream victims," IBM wrote in a news release. "With medical records as leverage, threat actors amplify pressure on breached organizations to pay a ransom."