The HIPAA breach report for December 2024 analyzes protected health information (PHI) breaches affecting 500 or more people, as reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in November 2024.
This report covers:
HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
Most common breaches by type
- Network server breaches affected the most people. 3,119,320 individuals had their data breached.
- Email breaches were the second most common breach, with 201,184 people affected.
- Electronic medical record breaches affected 108,124 people, the third most common breach type.
HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
Most common breach types
- Network server was the most common attack vector. There were 33 network server breaches.
- Email breaches were the second most common attack vector. There were 25 email breaches.
- Electronic medical record breaches were the third most common attack vector, with eight attacks.
Year-over-year comparison
These charts compare the HIPAA data breach statistics from previous Paubox HIPAA Breach Reports (December 2020, December 2021, December 2022, and December 2023) with this month’s report.
HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
What we observe
- Network server, Email, and Electronic medical record breaches affected the most people overall.
- The number of people affected by email breaches is up significantly from the previous year.
- Network server breaches are lower than in the previous two years.
HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
What we observe
- Network server, Email, and Electronic medical record breach types were the most common attack vectors.
- 33 network server breaches were reported in November 2024, down from the previous year.
- The number of Email breaches is up from the previous year.
Takeaways
Network Server breaches affected the most people in November 2024.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso had the most significant breach, which affected 815,000 people. The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center also had the second-largest breach, which affected 650,000 people.
The yearly comparison shows network server breaches were the most popular attack vectors in the last five November months.
Overall, over 35 million individuals had their data accessed via 277 breaches during the last five November.
Full data
Click here to view the HHS’ raw data via Google Sheets.
About the Paubox HIPAA Breach Report
The Paubox HIPAA Breach Report analyzes recent PHI breaches that affected 500 or more individuals, as reported on the HHS Wall of Shame in November 2024.
SEE ALSO: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide
Robust inbound email security is a necessity for businesses today. Keeping your email security strategy updated helps ensure the protection of your network.