DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Protenus releases its Q3 report on breaches involving health data

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Dissent

Protenus has released its Q3 report on breaches involving health data. As explained in their methodology, since its inception in 2016, Protenus reports have not confined themselves to just using data from HHS’s public breach tool (“The Wall of Shame”).  Instead, the Protenus reports, using data compiled by DataBreaches.net, include data from incidents also involving non-HIPAA entities such as schools, businesses, and other entities.  The Protenus data is also coded differently than the system HHS uses, because HHS’s “unauthorized access/disclosure” checkbox could be used to report an external hack or a rogue insider stealing data, or some other type of incident.

For Q3, Protenus reports that their analyses are based on 117 incidents, compared to 110 incidents for Q1 and 142 incidents for Q2.  But while the number of incidents decreased from Q2 to Q3, the number of breached records increased from 1.1 million in Q1 to 3.1 million in Q2 to 4.4 million in Q3.

The number of breached records has been increasing each quarter of 2018. Source: Protenus & DataBreaches.net.

In a parallel trend, the number of breached records due to insider (employee) wrong-doing has also been increasing quarter over quarter in 2018. For Q1, this subset accounted for 4,597 breached patient records, while in Q2, there were 70,562 affected records, and in Q3 there were 290,689 breached records.

That said, it is important to remember that while insider incidents (including both innocent errors by employees or vendors as well as malicious wrongdoing) account for approximately one-fourth to one-third of all incidents, they generally account for approximately 20% of breached records, with hacks (including phishing, email attacks, etc.) accounting for the vast majority of breached records.

Anyone expecting a linear trend across and within quarters, however, will be disappointed, as some numbers dropped month over month from July to September, even though quarterly totals increased.

The Protenus & DataBreaches.net report contains a number of stats from the quarter and previous quarter. You can obtain your free copy of the report by requesting it from Protenus.

Category: Breach IncidentsCommentaries and AnalysesHealth DataOf NoteU.S.

Post navigation

← Supply-chain attack on cryptocurrency exchange gate.io
VirtualBox zero-day published by disgruntled researcher →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Comstar LLC agrees to corrective action plan and fine to settle HHS OCR charges
  • Australian ransomware victims now must tell the government if they pay up
  • U.S. Sanctions Cloud Provider ‘Funnull’ as Top Source of ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams
  • Victoria’s Secret takes down website after security incident
  • U.S. Government Employee Arrested for Attempting to Provide Classified Information to Foreign Government
  • St. Cloud Provides Update on Ransomware Attack in 2024
  • Bradford Health Systems detected abnormal network activity in December 2023. They first sent out breach notices this week.
  • Websites selling hacking tools to cybercriminals seized
  • ConnectWise suspects cyberattack affecting some ScreenConnect customers was state-sponsored
  • Possible ransomware attack disrupts Maine and New Hampshire Covenant Health locations

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment
  • Watch out for activist judges trying to deprive us of our rights to safe reproductive healthcare
  • Nebraska Bans Minor Social Media Accounts Without Parental Consent
  • Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans
  • The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database
  • Home Pregnancy Test Company Wins Dismissal of Pixel Wiretapping Suit
  • The CCPA emerges as a new legal battleground for web tracking litigation

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.