IMA to the Commander, 711 Human Performance Wing and Chief, Air Force Biomedical Science Corps Wright Patterson AFB, OH

Dissertation Title

Healthcare Cybersecurity: Building a Cyber Vulnerability Profile for U.S. Hospitals

Dissertation Abstract

Digital transformation in healthcare has offered exponential advances in capabilities and efficiencies improving access, quality of care, chronic disease management, public health surveillance, and population health. However, the speed of change left security lagging, exposing cyber vulnerabilities that cost the U.S. $6.2 billion dollars annually, at an average cost of $2.2 million dollars, and 3,128 records breached per incident. Despite significant investments to close the gap on cyber vulnerabilities, cybersecurity remains a critical issue. Little research has been done to build a cyber vulnerability profile for U.S. hospitals. In this study, U.S. hospitals with reportable breach and without reportable breach were compared using a cyber vulnerability model with 4 dimensions and 12 predictor variables. Results of the panel logistic regression showed that organizational (not-for-profit, health system membership, net operating revenue) and technology (server virtualization) dimensions are statistically significant predictors of breach. This study supports the utility of a cyber vulnerability profile to mitigate cyber risk and close the gap on U.S. hospital cyber vulnerability.