Protecting Patient Data: Cyber Threats Targeting Small Practices

I was skimming headlines the other morning and saw yet another about a healthcare breach —this time it was Frederick Health Medical Group. A ransomware attack took systems offline and compromised the data of more than 900,000 patients.

If it feels like this keeps happening, it’s because it does.

Incidents like this are becoming more common. And it’s not just large hospital networks being targeted. Small and midsize practices are increasingly in the crosshairs—not because they’re high profile, but because attackers see them as easier to breach.

Here’s why that’s happening—and what you can do to protect your practice.

Why Small Practices Are Under Attack

Let’s be honest: if you’re running a small practice, you probably don’t have a full-time IT person. You’ve got patients to see, billing to chase, compliance to manage. Cybersecurity doesn’t always make the top of the list.

Hackers know that.

They know your EHR might not be fully patched. That you might still be relying on a basic antivirus setup. That your staff isn’t trained to spot a phishing attempt. And they’re not just randomly probing—they’re using automated tools to find weak spots in smaller healthcare environments.

Because the data you store—medical histories, insurance details, even scanned IDs—is worth a premium on the dark web.

What Happens to Stolen Patient Data?

Ever wonder why hackers want your EHR files?

It’s not just about names and birthdates. Medical records often sell for 10x more than credit card data on the dark web.

Here’s why:

Full identity profiles: Names, SSNs, insurance info, home addresses, and family contacts.

Medical histories: Useful for insurance fraud and prescription abuse.

Billing and payment data: Tied to care, often stored long-term.

Email logins: Used for follow-up phishing or to access portals.

Once stolen, this info is packaged up and sold on dark web marketplaces. And yes—they function like eBay, just without the customer support.

Even a single compromised inbox can lead to years of downstream risk.

The Big 3 Threats to Your Practice

1. Ransomware in Healthcare

This is the one that makes headlines for a reason. When ransomware hits, it can encrypt everything—your EHR, your scheduling system, your billing platform. You’re locked out, with no way to treat patients or process payments.

And even if you pay the ransom? There's no guarantee you’ll get your data back intact. Plus, under HIPAA breach reporting rules, you still have to report the incident.

2. Email Compromise

It usually starts with something small—a spoofed message from a vendor, a staffer clicking a bad link. Suddenly, inboxes are compromised, and attackers have access to login credentials or sensitive communication threads.

Most healthcare breaches still start with phishing.

3. EHR Protection Gaps

Many providers assume their EHR vendor handles all the security. But if you’re not backing up that data separately, restricting remote access, or using multi-factor authentication, your EHR might be a soft target.

The Cost of a Breach Isn’t Just Financial

HIPAA fines can range from a few thousand to millions, depending on how the breach is handled. But that’s just part of it.

You’re also looking at downtime, patient notifications, potential lawsuits, and the reputational hit that comes with exposing private health data. One bad click can spiral into months of cleanup.

Cyber insurance may help—but it doesn’t undo the mess.

How to Strengthen Your Defenses Without Hiring a Full IT Team

You don’t need a massive overhaul to start protecting your systems. Here’s what we recommend to small practices all the time:

Start with a Risk Assessment
Before you invest in anything, figure out where you’re vulnerable. A simple HIPAA Security Risk Assessment will surface the gaps that matter most. If you're not sure what regulators are expecting in 2025, here’s a breakdown of what IT leaders need to know.

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Especially on email, cloud storage, and your EHR. MFA stops the vast majority of credential-based breaches, even if someone gets your password.

Backups That Actually Work
Make sure your backups are stored offsite or in the cloud, not just on the same network. And don’t just set them and forget them—test your recovery process regularly.

Teach Your Team What to Look For
Your front desk staff doesn’t need to be cybersecurity pros—but they do need to know what a phishing email looks like. A little bit of training goes a long way, especially when repeated monthly or quarterly.

You’re Not Alone in This

Cybersecurity can feel like one more impossible task on your plate. But you don’t have to be the expert. You just need to know where your risk lives—and what steps to take to lower it.

At Decypher, we’ve worked in some of the most complex healthcare environments out there—redesigning cellular DAS systems for hospitals, navigating compliance audits, and keeping remote clinics online through floods, outages, and staffing changes. But we don’t just show up with a checklist. We take the time to understand your environment—technical and cultural—and build solutions that actually fit the way you work.

“Working with Decypher has been a great experience. Their team is knowledgeable, intuitive, and passionate about what they do. They took the time necessary to truly study not only our technical environment but our business culture as well. We appreciate the open lines of communication between our team and the ongoing collaboration. We’re thrilled to have identified such a strong partner here in the valley!”
— Director of Technical Services, Valley View Hospital
(More client testimonials →)

If you’re trying to wrap your head around how HIPAA expectations are evolving, this quick-read guide to HIPAA Compliance in 2025 breaks down the new priorities—and what regulators will be looking for.

If you’re not sure where to begin, we can help you get started.

Schedule a cybersecurity risk assessment with Decypher Technologies