HIPAA Breach Report for January 2019

The Paubox HIPAA Breach Report analyzes  protected health information (PHI) breaches affecting 500 or more people as reported to the HHS in December 2018.

HIPAA Breaches Ranked by People Affected

Top Three Breach Types

• Network Server breaches ranked the highest with 437,653 people's PHI hacked or stolen in December. This is the second consecutive month Network Server has taken the top spot.
• Email breaches ranked second with PHI of 45,036 people breached.
• Desktop Computer breaches came in third with 26,500 people having their PHI breached.

Bottom Three Breach Types

• Electronic Medical Record ranked as the lowest number of people's PHI being breached in December with 862 breaches.
• Paper/Films was the second lowest type of breach as ranked by people affected with 2,005.
• Other was the third lowest type of breach as ranked by people affected with 4,314.

HIPAA Breaches Ranked by Occurrence

The Most Common

• Email took the top spot as the most common breach type in December with 9 reported breaches. Email has taken the top rank in this category for 9 of the past 10 months.
• Desktop Computer ranked as the second most common breach type with 4 breaches.
• Network Server, Other, and Paper/Films each came in tied for third with 3 reported breaches in December.

Takeaways

Healthcare providers Warby Parker in New York and Adams County in Wisconsin both had large Network Server breaches in December. The sum of the two breaches affected 436,010 individuals and propelled the Network Server category into the top spot for Breaches Ranked by People Affected. SEE ALSO: Warby Parker alerts customers to cyber data breach SEE ALSO: Four months after disclosing breach, Adams County, Wisconsin notifies HHS Email maintained the top spot as the most common Breach vector in December. It has ranked first in this category for nine of the past ten months. As a breach vector, email is starting off 2019 much as it did for 2018- in the #1 spot.

Full Data

Click here to download the raw data.

About the Paubox HIPAA Breach Report

The Paubox HIPAA Breach Report analyzes breaches that affected 500 or more individuals as reported in the HHS Wall of Shame in December 2018. Minimize the risk of email getting you on the list with Paubox.

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