Healthcare ransomware attacks rose 14% in first half of 2026

Healthcare organizations worldwide faced 410 ransomware attacks in the first half of 2026, according to a July 9 report from Comparitech. That total was up nearly 14% from the 360 attacks recorded in the second half of 2025.

Of the 410 attacks, 247 targeted hospitals, clinics and other direct care providers. That was about a 3% increase from the prior half. The other 163 attacks hit healthcare businesses, including pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, medical billing companies and health tech firms. That segment rose nearly 35%.

The U.S. recorded 225 attacks, the most of any country and more than half of all attacks worldwide. Of those, 31 were confirmed, including 22 against hospitals, clinics and other direct care providers. Even so, attacks on U.S. healthcare providers specifically fell more than 7% from the previous half.

Attacks on U.S. healthcare businesses moved in the opposite direction, rising 11% from 71 to 79. Several of the largest individual breaches during the period involved U.S. organizations. They included Mt. Spokane Pediatrics, which notified more than 32,000 people, Center for Hearing and Speech dba Texas Hearing Institute with 29,500, Community Connections with 20,879, Orthopaedic Specialists of Massachusetts with 20,200 and Pecan Tree Dental with 13,300.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center was also hit with an $800,000 ransom demand from Medusa in March. That demand was tied to a February attack that forced the health system to cancel appointments for nearly two weeks. As of the report, UMMC had not issued any data breach notifications.

Globally, median ransom demands were $310,000 for healthcare providers and $300,000 for healthcare businesses. No ransom payments were officially confirmed during the first half of 2026.

Qilin and The Gentlemen were the most active ransomware strains against healthcare providers overall. Four of Qilin’s confirmed U.S. attacks hit Rocky Mountain Care, FMRS Health Systems, Orthopaedic Specialists of Massachusetts and Aroostook Mental Health Services.