Healthcare organisations are facing growing pressure to secure sensitive patient data, maintain operational resilience and defend against increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats, according to new research from Bridewell’s Cyber Security in Healthcare Report 2026. Sam Thornton, Chief Operating Officer at Bridewell, says the acceleration of AI adoption is exposing critical governance gaps that must be addressed as the sector continues its digital transformation journey.
Healthcare organisations are under mounting pressure as they grapple with protecting confidential patient data, maintaining regulatory compliance and keeping critical systems online, according to new research from Bridewell’s Cyber Security in Healthcare Report 2026. The findings revealed a concerning disconnect between priority and preparedness within the sector. While data protection and privacy remain the healthcare sector’s leading cyber security concern, 42% of organisations report low confidence in their ability to effectively protect sensitive confidential data.
Key Findings:
- Forty-two percent report low confidence in their cybersecurity measures for data protection.
- Fifty-one percent of healthcare organisations list data protection and privacy as a top concern.
- The biggest consequence of a cyberattack in healthcare is IT disruption, reported by 48% of healthcare professionals.
- Cloud infrastructure was noted as the primary attack vector in healthcare for 29% of organisations, which was higher than the CNI average of 25%.
Data protection and privacy remains primary concern
Healthcare organisations sit on a goldmine of sensitive personal data and, having historically struggled to defend it, the sector has long been an attractive target for threat actors. It is no surprise that more than half (51%) of organisations cite data protection and privacy as their primary cybersecurity challenge. Managing highly sensitive patient information, including medical histories, diagnostic data and personal identifiers, means the stakes extend far beyond financial loss, with the compromise of this data carrying serious implications for patient safety, trust and continuity of care.
The risks have been compounded by the added layer of complexity that Artificial Intelligence brings, with more than a third (35%) of healthcare organisations citing AI cyber-risk as a key concern. Other concerns of the industry include improving cyber-resilience (40%), with lower concerns regarding trusting cyber tools (26%) and complying with regulations (28%).
Healthcare lacks confidence in protecting its own data
Despite recognising the importance of protecting sensitive patient data, confidence in existing cyber security measures remains low across much of the healthcare sector. Nearly four in ten healthcare organisations (39%) report low confidence in their data protection capabilities, highlighting a persistent gap between cyber security priorities and organisations’ ability to effectively address them.
The growing use of AI in healthcare brings significant new exposure points, particularly where downstream identity and access management is insecure. As AI systems are granted access to large volumes of sensitive patient data, weak governance around who and what can access that data creates serious risk. Poorly governed pipelines, over-permissioned integrations and ungoverned service accounts can quietly open access to sensitive records in ways that existing controls were never designed to detect or contain.
As healthcare environments become more interconnected and AI adoption accelerates, many organisations remain uncertain whether their current controls are sufficient to keep pace with an evolving threat landscape.
IT disruption emerges as the most significant impact of cyberattacks
Cyberattacks can result in a variety of operational, financial and reputational consequences, but IT disruption remains the most prevalent impact for healthcare organisations. Nearly half (48%) of professionals identified IT disruption as a key consequence of cyber incidents, highlighting the sector’s growing dependence on digital systems and the significant operational challenges caused by downtime.
Beyond IT disruption, more than a third of organisations reported experiencing revenue loss (36%), while operational disruption was cited by 34% of respondents. A third (33%) also identified budget increases, data loss and supply chain disruption as key consequences of cyber incidents, demonstrating the far-reaching impact cyberattacks can have across healthcare operations.
Cloud adoption creates new security challenges
Cloud adoption is creating new security challenges for healthcare organisations. While cloud platforms offer greater scalability, flexibility and support for Digital Transformation initiatives, they can also introduce additional risk if not properly secured. Cloud infrastructure was identified as the primary attack vector by 29% of healthcare organisations, exceeding the critical national infrastructure (CNI) average of 25%. This suggests healthcare providers may be particularly exposed to cloud-related risks, including misconfigurations, inadequate access controls and broader governance challenges, as they continue to modernise their technology environments.
Healthcare responds faster to cyber incidents, but challenges remain
The findings revealed that healthcare organisations report some of the fastest cyber incident response times across CNI. On average, organisations reported responding to ransomware, supply chain and data theft incidents within five to six hours, outperforming many other sectors. This is partly driven by the sector’s strict regulatory requirements and the need to maintain patient safety and continuity of care, which place pressure on organisations to act quickly in the event of a cyber incident.
However, despite these comparatively fast response times, a significant gap remains between the speed of response and the speed at which modern threat actors operate. Cybercriminals can move from initial access to data theft within minutes, meaning healthcare organisations must continue to strengthen their detection, containment and recovery capabilities to reduce exposure to cyberthreats.
“Healthcare organisations are navigating an increasingly complex threat landscape while managing some of the most sensitive data of any sector. Our research shows that data protection remains a top priority, but many organisations still lack confidence in their ability to defend against evolving cyber threats,” said Sam Thornton, Chief Operating Officer, at Bridewell. “The acceleration of AI adoption is opening doors that many organisations don’t yet know exist, when the identity and access management layer downstream isn’t secure, sensitive patient data can be reached through pathways that sit entirely outside traditional security frameworks. As healthcare continues its Digital Transformation journey, that governance gap must be closed.”
