Healthcare organizations worldwide faced 410 ransomware attacks in the first half of 2026, up nearly 14% from the 360 attacks recorded in the second half of 2025, according to a July 9 report from Comparitech.
Of the 410 attacks, 247 hit hospitals, clinics and other direct care providers, up about 3% from the prior half. The remaining 163 hit healthcare businesses, such as pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, medical billing companies and health tech firms, up nearly 35%.
Here are five things to know:
- The US recorded 225 attacks, the most of any country and more than half of all attacks worldwide. Of those, 31 were confirmed, including 22 against hospitals, clinics and other direct care providers.
- Despite leading in raw attack volume, the US saw attacks on healthcare providers specifically fall more than 7% from the prior half. Attacks on US healthcare businesses rose 11%, from 71 to 79.
- Several of the largest individual breaches of the period hit US organizations, including Mt. Spokane Pediatrics (more than 32,000 people notified), Center for Hearing and Speech dba Texas Hearing Institute (29,500), Community Connections (20,879), Orthopaedic Specialists of Massachusetts (20,200) and Pecan Tree Dental (13,300).
- The University of Mississippi Medical Center was hit with an $800,000 ransom demand from Medusa in March, tied to a February attack that forced the health system to cancel appointments for nearly two weeks. As of the report, UMMC had not issued any data breach notifications.
- Median ransom demands were $310,000 for healthcare providers and $300,000 for healthcare businesses globally. No ransom payments were officially confirmed during H1 2026.
Qilin and The Gentlemen were the most active ransomware strains against healthcare providers overall, with four of Qilin’s confirmed US attacks hitting Rocky Mountain Care, FMRS Health Systems, Orthopaedic Specialists of Massachusetts and Aroostook Mental Health Services.
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