14 Million Patients Impacted by Healthcare Data Breaches in 2024: Why Privacy-First Solutions Matter

Healthcare organizations, which store vast amounts of sensitive data—including social security numbers, medical histories, and financial details—have become prime targets for cybercriminals. According to a new analysis by SonicWall, the majority of these breaches (91%) leveraged ransomware, where attackers used the threat of exposing this critical data to extort ransom payments.

The Growing Threat to Healthcare Data Privacy

Healthcare’s rapid adoption of digital tools, electronic health records, telemedicine platforms, and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices has widened its attack surface. Malicious actors have exploited these systems, taking advantage of vulnerabilities in widely-used platforms like Microsoft Exchange and Citrix. A report found that groups like BlackCat/ALPHV are targeting critical vulnerabilities, such as the ProxyShell and ProxyLogon exploit chains, to infiltrate networks and deploy ransomware.

But these breaches don’t just compromise systems—they compromise lives. Disrupting access to medical records can delay care and even lead to life-threatening consequences, making healthcare providers more likely to pay ransoms in order to restore operations quickly.

How Zerocrat’s End-to-End Encryption Can Protect Sensitive Healthcare Data

The healthcare sector’s ongoing vulnerability to data breaches underscores the need for privacy-first solutions with end-to-end encryption, particularly in systems handling such sensitive information. At Zerocrat, we believe that privacy should be at the forefront of every organization’s security architecture, especially when it comes to sensitive data like medical records.

• Full control over your data: With Zerocrat’s zero-knowledge architecture, only you have access to your encrypted data. Healthcare organizations using Zerocrat’s privacy-focused solutions can rest assured that no third party—no matter how skilled—will have access to patient data.
• No weak points: Many of these breaches happened because vulnerabilities in common software were left exposed. Zerocrat’s minimal dependency design ensures that your sensitive data is never left open due to third-party software flaws. The fewer external dependencies, the fewer risks.
• Data integrity, always encrypted: Unlike systems vulnerable to ransomware that hold sensitive information in plaintext or weakly encrypted forms, Zerocrat encrypts everything from the moment it’s stored to when it’s accessed. This end-to-end encryption guarantees that even in the event of a breach, your data remains secure and inaccessible to bad actors.

Safeguard Your Data Before It’s Too Late

Ransomware attacks and data breaches are not just a problem for healthcare but for any business that handles sensitive data. Whether you’re in healthcare or any other data-driven industry, the best way to protect yourself is to adopt a privacy-first approach, just like Zerocrat’s encrypted architecture offers.

Don’t wait until it’s too late—secure your sensitive information today with Zerocrat, the privacy-focused accounting solution that ensures your data stays where it belongs: with you.

Data breaches are becoming more frequent, but they don’t have to be inevitable. Learn more about Zerocrat and how our zero-knowledge architecture can protect your organization from the next cyberattack.