Different Types Of Data Affected Differently

There are four main data types affected by PHI incidents, the report found: medical records, payment card information, personal identifiable information and credentials. Each saw different patterns when it came to breaches, the report found. Most of the losses cited under credentials involved single credential losses. But a breach within credentials can act as a gateway into wider breaches in the other three categories.

Meanwhile, data that is either medical in nature or that identifies a person is much more likely to be breached to the tune of thousands of records, the report said, as they’re often stored in bulk in databases. Finally, the report found that payment card information saw a broad range of attacks, ranging from only hundreds of records to tens of thousands.