In-depth coverage of data breach causes, consequences, and prevention tactics. These posts examine real-world breach incidents, regulatory requirements for breach notification, steps to contain and recover from breaches, and proactive measures organizations can take to reduce exposure.
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Last year, a hospital administrator told me she ignored an alert about a credential stuffing attack because she didn't know what that phrase meant. Three days later, her organization was dealing with a ransomware incident that shut down patient scheduling for two weeks. The jargon gap in cybersecurity
In March 2025, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that phishing remained the number one reported cybercrime for the fifth consecutive year. That stat alone should tell you everything about where threat actors are focusing their energy. But raw numbers don't teach your employees what
In September 2023, a threat actor called Scattered Spider called MGM Resorts' IT help desk, impersonated an employee they found on LinkedIn, and convinced a technician to reset credentials. The result: an estimated $100 million in losses, a ransomware lockout across casino floors and hotel systems, and weeks of
In February 2024, Change Healthcare — a company that processes roughly one-third of all U.S. medical claims — was hit by the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group. The fallout was staggering: $872 million in direct costs reported by UnitedHealth Group in a single quarter, pharmacies unable to process prescriptions, and the personal
A Single Click That Cost a Hospital $22 Million In February 2024, Change Healthcare — the payment processing backbone for thousands of U.S. hospitals and pharmacies — was hit by the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group. UnitedHealth Group, its parent company, confirmed paying approximately $22 million in ransom. The attack disrupted prescription
The Attack That Cost a Hospital $67 Million In May 2024, Ascension Healthcare disclosed a ransomware attack that disrupted operations across 140 hospitals. Ambulances were diverted. Clinicians reverted to paper charts. The financial impact reportedly reached $1.8 billion in total losses for the fiscal year, with the cyber incident
Ransomware Isn't Slowing Down — It's Shapeshifting In February 2024, Change Healthcare suffered what became one of the most devastating ransomware attacks in U.S. history. The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group crippled the nation's largest health care payment processor, disrupting pharmacies, hospitals, and insurance claims
In May 2024, Ticketmaster confirmed a breach that exposed the personal data of over 560 million customers. The attack vector? Stolen credentials used to access a third-party cloud database. It wasn't some exotic zero-day exploit. It was a login and password that fell into the wrong hands. If
In May 2023, the City of Dallas got hit with Royal ransomware. Police dispatch systems went down. Court services froze. Municipal operations ground to a halt for weeks. The city ultimately spent over $8.5 million on recovery. And here's the part that stings: Dallas had cybersecurity staff
The Breach That Cost Change Healthcare $22 Million in Ransom In February 2024, the ransomware group ALPHV/BlackCat crippled Change Healthcare — a company that processes roughly one-third of all U.S. healthcare claims. The attack disrupted pharmacies, hospitals, and billing systems nationwide for weeks. UnitedHealth Group, Change Healthcare's
