An Aug. 15 issue of The Joint Commission's publication Sentinel Event Alert warns of a rise in healthcare-related cybersecurity attacks, with more than 51.9 million patient records exposed in 2022 alone.
The most common locations for breaches include network servers and email accounts, according to the report.
A survey of 641 healthcare information technology and security professionals by the Ponemon Institute found that 89 percent of respondent's organizations had experienced a cyberattack in the last 12 months.
The most common kinds of attacks were cloud compromise (54 percent of respondents), business email compromise (51 percent), supply chain disruptions (50 percent) and ransomware (41 percent).
The Joint Commission suggests several key actions health systems can take to prepare themselves for any potential breaches.
Actions include preparing critical technologies to be offline for periods of time, forming an internet downtime planning committee, developing downtime plans, procedures and resources, designating a response team, training team leaders and staffers on how to operate during downtimes, establishing situational awareness and making necessary changes in the wake of any cybersecurity event.