Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Covered assets are increasingly the targets of malicious cyberattacks, which result not only in data breaches but also increased healthcare delivery costs and can ultimately affect patient health outcomes. (2) Data reported to the Department shows that large cyber breaches of the information systems of healthcare facilities rose 93 percent between 2018 and 2022. (3) According to the Annual Report to Congress on Breaches of Unsecured Protected Health Information for Calendar Year 2022 issued by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department, breaches of unsecured protected health information have increased 107 percent since 2018, and, in 2022 alone, the Department received 626 reported breaches affecting not fewer than 500 individuals at covered entities or business associates (as defined in section 160.103 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations) that occurred or ended in 2022, with nearly 42,000,000 individuals affected.