According to Bitglass, a cloud security company, the total number of breaches of protected health information (PHI) doubled from 2018- 2019. This trend matched the increase (doubling) of breaches from 2017-2019.

These breaches affected over 27 million individuals, based on:
1) Hacking or IT Incidents
2) Unauthorized Access
3) Loss or Theft
4) Other Miscellaneous Loss of Data.

This is Bitglass’ six annual Healthcare Breach Report, and uses data posted to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ “Wall of Shame,” which tracks the loss or breach of health records.

In 2019, ‘hacking and IT incidents’ accounted for 60% of all data loss, according to Anurag Kahol, CTO of Bitglass. Healthcare practices and databases are rich targets for cyber-criminals, given the amount of sensitive information that they include.

The article also notes that the cost per breached record was $429 in 2019 and that data breaches cost healthcare organizations $11.8 Billion

For more information about the report, please visit: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200219005071/en/Bitglass-2020-Healthcare-Breach-Report-27-Million
 

I am an avid NPR and Planet Money podcast listener. Why? Well, it is always fun to learn more about the economy- plus the presenters take complex 'subjects' and present them in an easily accessible form or story.

This week I was listening to the recent Planet Money podcast about cyber insurance (episode #886 The Price of a Hack), and I almost stopped dead in my tracks. It was the perfect way to help my clients better hear/lean about the impact of cyber insurance, because it was told in story form- not in  wonky legal insurance speak. After listening to it, I was so excited I even ran upstairs to tell my wife, who is a saint because she always listens to my geeky insurance stories (for the record she is an artist and way cooler that I am in every way). 

In any event, if you are curious about cyber insurance, interested in how to plan for a hack, or just love economic stories, check it out. The link is below: episode-886-the-price-of-a-hack

It was a short 228 years ago that George Washington delivered his infamous Thanksgiving proclamation and designated November 26th, 1789 as "a day of public thanksgiving . . ."   This, the first of presidential proclamations, was artfully recommended to the people of the United States.  While it was not implemented with the force of law this quintessentially American tradition has lived on for over two centuries.

We at TriMountain Corp wish you, your families and friends a Happy Thanksgiving!