Healthcare data breach spikes during COVID-19 pandemic

As governments and healthcare organisations strive to suppress COVID-19, the main numbers being counted are those of transmission rates. At the same time, data breach incidents may be rising in number without the attention their severity merits as well. In mid-2020, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and its American counterpart, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), warned of the dangers of cyberattacks hitting healthcare organisations during the pandemic, given the immense strain which was already stretching their time and resources. With coronavirus prioritised, it may be that only time will tell what the true cost of these healthcare data breach spikes will be.

Through the data breach incidents of the past few years, many healthcare organisations have shown that they are poorly equipped to protect personal data. Whether the data breach consists of an accidental email or a large-scale cyberattack, the effects can be severe for the victims, and may put the organisation involved in breach of the law.

As leading specialists in data breach law, we help victims to claim compensation when their right to proper data protection has been breached. Contact us for free, no-obligation advice if you think you may have a claim.

Healthcare data breach spikes and the threat of ransomware

With cybersecurity specialists scrambling to deal with the immediate threats of cybercrime, it seems that they have yet to get a handle on the specific statistics of the UK’s healthcare data breach spikes. Nevertheless, the health sector has been predicted to be on the frontline of cyberattacks in 2021, as it proved to be during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of these coronavirus-related data breaches will likely centre on the pharmaceutical companies and distributors in charge of the vaccine rollout. The European Medicines Agency has already experienced an attack which led to hackers leaking vaccine data.

However, hospitals can also be at an extremely high risk and it may only be a matter of time before UK hospitals succumb to a cyberattack like we saw in 2017 with the infamous WannaCry incident.

The implications of healthcare data breaches

With further healthcare data breach spikes on the horizon, it is vital that UK healthcare organisations have the cybersecurity infrastructure needed to cope with the cyberattack crisis running alongside the coronavirus crisis.

Healthcare cyberattacks can not only bring hospitals to a standstill and cause harm to patients, they can also compromise the security of highly sensitive data, causing immense distress and sometimes financial loss for the victims. The current state of hospital cybersecurity may well be untenable if we are to prevent future healthcare data breach spikes.

Make your compensation claim

The many healthcare data breach examples and incidents, and the huge cybersecurity threat many healthcare organisations are facing, is serious. As specialists in data breach law, we have supported many clients who have had their medical data exposed, so we know how distressing these breaches can be for the victims.

The law can entitle you to claim compensation for both the distress and for any  financial loss caused by data breaches. If you have been affected by the ongoing wave of healthcare data breach spikes, you may be able to claim compensation for the harm caused to you, and we are happy to offer free, no-obligation advice on your potential claim.

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