Study shows that ransomware and cybersecurity attacks cause upticks of mortality in hospitals

A new study shows that the death rate among heart attack patients increases in the months and years after an hospital experiences a data breach. According to a study published in Health Services Research, the increased mortality is attributed to how healthcare systems adjust their cybersecurity after an attack, not because of the hackers. Security Magazine reports that the aim of the study was to estimate the long-term relationship between breach remediation and care quality. Researchers analyzed a range of hospitals from 2012 to 2016 to evaluate patient outcomes and timeliness of care in the years before and after a breach. The study concludes that “hospitals should carefully consider remedial security initiatives to limit inadvertent delay and disruptions associated with new processes, procedures and technologies” following a breach.