Trends In Healthcare Data Breach Statistics

According to The HIPAA Journal, it has compiled healthcare data breach statistics since October 2009, when the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) started publishing breach summaries on its website.[1] The outlet says its figures "clearly show an upward trend in data breaches since 2009."[1]The HIPAA Journal reports that in July 2026, 77 healthcare data breaches affecting 500 or more individuals were reported to the HHS Office for Civil Rights, involving the protected health information of more than 33 million individuals.[2] The outlet calls this "a 10% month-over-month increase in data breaches and a 642% increase in affected individuals."[2]The outlet also says July was the third month in a row in which large healthcare data breaches increased.[2] In its words, "while 2026 was looking like there would be a fall in large healthcare data breaches, the year-to-date figures now suggest otherwise."[2]According to the same report, the OCR portal currently shows 806 large healthcare data breaches in 2025, an increase of 8.6% from 2024.[2]The HIPAA Journal's H1 2026 report found a 5.9% year-over-year reduction in large healthcare data breaches and a 22.6% reduction in affected individuals[3] for the first six months of the year. That report says 343 hacking/IT incidents were reported in H1.[3]On penalties, The HIPAA Journal reports that the trend in recent years has been toward smaller HIPAA penalties, imposed on healthcare organizations of all sizes.[1]