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The HIPAA Breach Report for August 2026 analyzes protected health information (PHI) breaches affecting 500 or more people as reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July 2026.
This report covers:
- HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
- HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
- Year-over-year comparison
- Takeaways
- Full data
HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
Most common breaches by type
- Network server breaches affected the most people. 19,506,197 individuals had their data breached.
- Email breaches were the second most common breach, with 85,046 people affected.
- Laptop breaches affected 41,569 people, the third most impactful breach type.
HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
Most common breach types
- Network server was the most common attack vector. There were 17 network server breaches.
- Email breaches were the second most common attack vector. There were 11 email breaches.
- Desktop, Electronic medical record, Laptop, and Paper/films breaches were the third most common attack vector, with 1 each.
Year-over-year comparison
These charts compare the HIPAA data breach statistics from previous Paubox HIPAA Breach Reports (August 2022, August 2023, August 2024, and August 2025) with this month’s report.
HIPAA breaches ranked by people affected
What we observe
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Network server, email, and laptop breaches affected the most people overall in July 2026.
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The number of people affected by network server breaches reached 19,506,197, the highest in five years and up sharply from 4,305,809 in 2025.
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Email breaches affected 85,046 people, down from 119,183 in 2025.
HIPAA breaches ranked by occurrence
What we observe
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Network server breaches remained the most frequent attack vector with 17 incidents in July 2026, down from 33 in 2025.
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Email has consistently remained the second most frequent attack vector over the last five years, with 11 incidents this month.
Takeaways
Network server breaches affected the most people in July 2026. DentaQuest, LLC had the most significant breach, which affected 15,000,000 people. Unlimited Technology Systems, LLC had the second-largest breach, affecting 3,803,750 people. The yearly comparison shows that network server breaches remain the most popular attack vector for bad actors.
Overall, 19,603,637 individuals had their data accessed via 30 breaches reported in July 2026.
Full data
Click here to view the HHS’ raw data via Google Sheets.
About the Paubox HIPAA Breach Report
The Paubox HIPAA Breach Report analyzes recent PHI breaches that affected 500 or more individuals, as reported on the HHS Wall of Shame in July 2026.
SEE ALSO: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide
Robust inbound email security is a necessity for businesses today. Keeping your email security strategy updated helps ensure the protection of your network.
