Health care industry reports record number of data breaches since 2020

Patients have put their trust in hospitals, health plans and medical providers throughout the pandemic, but as medical professionals worked tirelessly to save lives, the health care industry could not stop hackers from causing a record number of security breaches, not just jeopardizing medical data, but personal and financial information too, a WCNC Charlotte analysis of federal data revealed.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services records show health care companies in North Carolina and South Carolina have reported 47 large breaches of unsecured protected health information impacting more than 1.4 million people since 2020. The Office for Civil Rights is currently investigating 26 of those breaches, according to federal data. Most were the result of hackers/IT incidents, but there were cases of unauthorized access and one of theft, public records reveal.

"That's a very big number," UNC Charlotte Professor of Software Information Systems Dr. Mohamed Shehab said of the number of people impacted. "It's shocking." #WheresTheMoney #Shorts