The risk cyberthreats pose to healthcare organizations has never been greater. In 2021, the industry saw an all-time high in the number of data breaches reported (679) and the number of individuals affected (45 million), according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data.

IBM’s “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021” indicated that the average breach costs a healthcare organization $9.2 million, more than double the average for other industries. This cost includes detecting the breach, mitigating it and notifying all individuals impacted. The figure also accounts for revenue lost when care cannot be delivered, which is increasingly the case when organizations are hit with ransomware attacks.

The industry’s main challenge in the face of growing cyberthreats is acquiring enough people, skills and technology to address cybersecurity needs. In a competitive job market and with margins tightening, the most effective approach for organizations is to integrate and automate their cybertechnology stack toward what is commonly termed extended detection and response, or XDR, says Bob Kalka, vice president of worldwide security technical sales for IBM.

DISCOVER: How IBM delivers analytics and real-time defenses to protect patient data.