The 2025 Breach Barometer Report
The 2025 Breach Barometer Report provides a comprehensive look into the escalating cybersecurity threats facing healthcare, highlighting record-breaking breach volumes, delayed notifications, and rising financial and operational impacts. It offers a clear snapshot of the vulnerabilities, trends, and risks shaping patient data security nationwide.
Reported Increases in Patient Records Breached
Hospitals saw a 26% increase in the number of patient records breached, driven in part by one of the largest healthcare breaches on record. The rise highlights growing cybersecurity pressures.
Reported Breaches Caused by Hacking and IT Incidents
Hospitals reported that 82% of data breaches were linked to hacking and IT incidents. These attacks remain the leading cause of widespread data exposure.
Reported Breaches With Business Associates
Hospitals reported that 66% of breached records involved business associates, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities across third-party partners and data handlers.
73% of breach reports were submitted by healthcare providers
Healthcare providers accounted for 73% of all breach reports, reflecting their large footprint and high volume of patient interactions. While providers filed the most incidents, they represented a much smaller share of total breached records, revealing a gap between frequency and impact. The findings highlight the need for improved oversight and tighter data-handling practices.
94% of all compromised patient records resulted from hacking incidents
Hacking incidents remain the most damaging source of data exposure, accounting for nearly all compromised patient records. These attacks often involve data theft, extortion, or ransomware, creating significant operational and financial risk for hospitals. Strengthening cybersecurity defenses is essential to reduce the scale and impact of these breaches.
Over 300 million breached patient records reported
Hospitals faced a massive surge in compromised patient data, with more than 305 million records breached in a single reporting period. This dramatic spike reflects the growing scale, severity, and sophistication of cyberattacks targeting healthcare.