The Paubox HIPAA Breach Report analyzes protected health information (PHI) breaches affecting 500 or more people as reported to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) in September 2022.
This report covers:
- HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
- HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
- Year-over-year comparison
- Takeaways
- Full data
HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
Most common breaches by type
- Network server breaches affected the most people in September 2022. 1,549,809 individuals had their data breached.
- Electronic medical record (EMR) breaches were the second most common breach, with 591,723 people affected.
- Email breaches affected 258,176 people, the third most common breach type.
HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
Most common breach types
- Network server was the most common attack vector in September 2022. There were 37 network server breaches.
- Electronic medical record and email breaches were tied for the second most common attack vector, with each garnering 6 attacks during the month.
- Other portable electronic device breaches were reported 3 times last month.
Year-over-year comparison
These charts compare the HIPAA data breach statistics from previous Paubox HIPAA Breach Reports (October 2018, October 2019, October 2020, October 2021) with this month’s report.
HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
What we observe
- Network server, email and desktop breaches affected the most people overall across this comparison.
- While desktop breaches had been steadily increasing over the past 3 years, they experienced a sharp decline in September 2022.
- With the exception of an outlier in September 2020, email breaches have steadily increased year over year, affecting a total of 1,163,461 people in these months.
HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
What we observe
- Network server and email breach types were the most common attack vectors in this comparison.
- Network server breaches more than doubled in September 2022 when compared to September 2021.
- Paper/films breaches have seen a steady decline over this timespan, with only 1 such occurrence in September 2022.
Takeaways
Network server breaches affected the most people in September 2022. Wolfe Clinic, P.C. had the most significant breach that affected 542,776 people. Empress Ambulance Service LLC had the second-largest breach, which affected 318,558 people.
The yearly comparison shows that network server breaches were the most popular attack vectors for bad actors over the last five September months. Over 1 million total individuals had their data accessed via 37 network server breaches during this time.
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 September 2022.
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.
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