Hospitals boost cybersecurity budgets, staff

Editor's Note

Hospital head counts and budgets reflect a growing emphasis on cybersecurity, according to a recent Moody’s Investment Service report.

As detailed in an April 25 report in Becker’s Health IT, the Moody’s report is based on data from 148 healthcare organizations, 77% of which are hospitals. Cybersecurity team headcount increased by an average of 30% from 2019 to 2022, while spending increased from 5% to 7% of total IT budgets during the same time period. The report also notes that the 81% of healthcare companies designating cybersecurity as a budget line item is higher than the 74% average across all industries.  

Responses collected by Moody’s also show hospitals outsourcing cybersecurity, such as a 50% increase in the number of outsourced cybersecurity employees from 2019 to 2022. Other insights detailed in the report include differences in investment levels between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals and the use of cybersecurity insurance.