The healthcare industry is a prime target for ransomware attacks, from small children’s clinics to large hospital networks. In fact, 67% of healthcare organizations experienced a ransomware attack last year.
These breaches leak highly sensitive patient data, jeopardize the delivery of essential services, and put patients’ lives at risk.
Keep reading to find out how and why attacks happen, and what healthcare providers can do to protect themselves.
The Impact of Ransomware in Healthcare
The number of healthcare breaches has increased massively in recent years. Last year saw 491 serious breaches in the US alone, according to Statista:
This is worrying because patients rely on hospitals for essential and sometimes urgent treatment. Disruptions can lead to life-threatening situations. Here are a few tragic real-life examples:
- Kettering Health, a network with 14 medical and emergency centers in Ohio, suffered a major ransomware attack in May 2025. Ambulances were forced to divert and patients said they had their MRIs, cancer follow-ups, pre-surgery examinations, and even chemotherapy canceled
- InAlabama a baby born during an attack suffered severe brain injury due to compromised care, ultimately leading to her death
- In Düsseldorf, Germany, a life was lost after a ransomware attack forced an ambulance to redirect a patient to another hospital, delaying crucial treatment for an aneurysm
Ransomware attacks also have significant financial consequences for healthcare organizations. Research from Microsoft shows that healthcare organizations lose $1.9M per day on average for each day of downtime following a ransomware attack.
Why Is Healthcare Such a Popular Target for Cybercriminals?
The healthcare sector has always been one of the most popular targets, along with government institutions, public services, education, and financial services. There are a few reasons why cybercriminals love health organizations:
- Valuable Patient Data
Healthcare records contain comprehensive personal and medical information, making them highly valuable on the black market. This data includes everything from social security numbers to detailed medical histories, offering a treasure trove for identity theft and fraud.
- Critical Infrastructure
Hospitals and healthcare providers rely on real-time access to patient data and systems to deliver care. Disrupting these systems can have life-or-death consequences, leaving the organization with no choice but to pay the ransom.
- Inadequate Cybersecurity Measures
Outdated systems, limited cybersecurity budgets, and a shortage of trained cybersecurity personnel leave the healthcare industry vulnerable to attacks. As a result, 75% of attempted ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations are successful.
How Do Ransomware Attacks Happen?
In recent years, hospitals and other healthcare organizations have made efforts to digitize their processes. Digital transformation has its advantages, but it’s also opened up new doors—literally—for cybercriminals.
The mechanics of how ransomware infiltrates healthcare systems are as varied as they are sophisticated. Common methods include phishing, where attackers send deceptive emails tricking recipients into clicking on malicious links or downloading infected attachments.
Another frequent entry point is through exploiting vulnerabilities in outdated software or unsecured networks, which are all too common in the complex IT environments of healthcare institutions.
This might leave you wondering, what can healthcare institutions do to improve their defenses against ransomware? The good news is, by adopting proactive ransomware protection and adhering to best practices, healthcare organizations can significantly enhance their resilience against these threats.
Best Practices for Ransomware Protection in Healthcare
Here are some simple yet impactful steps healthcare companies can take to improve their cybersecurity strategy and boost their ransomware protection:
- Cybersecurity Training
Healthcare organizations should educate employees on cybersecurity hygiene, such as identifying phishing emails and secure password protocols. The training program should also address healthcare-specific risks, like safeguarding electronic health records (EHR) and understanding the privacy laws surrounding patient data. Tailoring these sessions to different roles ensures that all staff, from administration to medical professionals, are equipped to protect sensitive information.
- Regular Software Updates and Patch Management
Keeping all software, including operating systems and applications, up to date is vital for securing healthcare systems against ransomware exploits. Cybercriminals frequently target known vulnerabilities in outdated software. Establishing a routine for regular updates and patches ensures that these vulnerabilities are addressed promptly, reducing the attack surface available to potential attackers.
- Zero Trust Security
Zero trust security operates under the assumption that no user or device, whether inside or outside the organization’s network, is trustworthy. This model requires verification for every access attempt to the network and its resources, significantly minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. By enforcing strict access controls and always verifying user credentials, healthcare organizations can better protect sensitive data and critical systems.
- Incident Response Preparedness
Having a solid incident response plan in place is critical for minimizing the impact of a ransomware attack. This plan should outline specific steps for identifying, containing, and eradicating the threat, as well as for recovering affected systems and data.
- Comprehensive System Monitoring with ProLion DataDefense
ProLion DataDefense detects and blocks ransomware attacks in real-time at the storage level. This gives organizations a last line of defense, stopping any attack in its tracks so organizations can ensure the integrity of patient data and continuity of care.
ProLion: The Ultimate Ransomware Protection for Healthcare Institutions
As attacks on healthcare organizations show no signs of slowing down, don’t wait for an attack to boost your defenses.
Learn more about ProLion’s unique approach to ransomware protection or read about how the German hospital Klinikum Peine is using ProLion to block ransomware attacks.
