Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

Hospital and health system chief information security officers have been navigating an increase in cyberattacks over the past year, with some experiencing EHR outages and needing to divert patients to other providers, according to a recent survey. 

With cyberattacks on the healthcare industry escalating, chief information security officers are calling for more support and education from federal authorities, according to a recent College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security survey. 

HHS unveiled the top ransomware threat actors for hospitals and how many hospitals have been struck between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to an Oct. 13 report.

Millions of patient records are left vulnerable on third-party health apps integrated into EHRs, The Verge reported Oct. 18.

Los Angeles-based Barlow Respiratory Hospital is investigating a ransomware attack after hackers posted stolen data online.

Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System is warning patients that scammers are spoofing phone calls to make it appear as if they are coming from Henry Ford Macomb Hospital.

From Optum's lawsuit against former employees to class-action lawsuits against UF Health that affected more than 700,000 patients, here are seven recent lawsuits and settlements over data breaches making headlines:

Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health began notifying more than 200,000 patients and health plan participants that a hacker breached employee email accounts containing their personal information, according to data the health system shared with HHS on Oct. 15.

Newark, N.J.-based University Hospital began notifying thousands of patients that their protected health information was exposed by a former employee.

Leesburg-based UF Health Central Florida has been sued by a patient after a May cyberattack exposed the data of 700,981 patients, according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 14.