Cybersecurity Resources

Did you know?

• Cyberattacks have increased by 400% since 2020.
• In 2022 alone, the number of healthcare cyberattacks increased by 74%.
• The average cost per patient whose data is compromised in a breach is $400.
• In one recent cyber claim handled by TDIC, the total costs to conduct a forensic IT investigation, get systems back online and cover lost business neared $100,000.      

Is your dental practice at risk?

Dental practice owners often have a false sense of security when it comes to their own cyber safety, imagining that hackers go after larger, more lucrative targets. The reality is that healthcare organizations of all sizes are the lucrative targets hackers seek.

Additional Resources

• Cybercrime and Your Dental Practice. In this article, TDIC’s risk management experts describe the most common cyberthreats dental practices currently face and how they could potentially occur in your practice.
• Why Your Dental Practice Needs Cybersecurity. This article explains the importance of investing practice resources to prevent and protect against cybercrime.
• Policyholders can sign in to download TDIC’s Cyber Liability Guide for an overview of risks and targets, data breaches and cyberattacks and other important information about mitigating cyber risks. 

Did you know?

• 50-70% of connected devices in dental offices have vulnerable security.
• On average, 364,571 healthcare records are leaked every day in the U.S.
• Currently, the healthcare sector accounts for 32% of all recorded breaches—almost double the number recorded in the financial and manufacturing sectors.

Is your dental practice prepared for a cyberattack?

Implementing robust cybersecurity in your dental practice involves regular staff training on recognizing and mitigating potential cyber threats, investing in reliable cybersecurity software, encrypting sensitive data and maintaining secure backups.

Additional Resources

• Cyber Liability Guide is a comprehensive resource for TDIC policyholders. Sign in for more information on investigations, preparation and prevention of cybercrime.
• Training Your Dental Practice Team to Combat Cyber Threats. TDIC’s risk management analysts offer practical tips for keeping dental practice teams ahead of evolving risks.
• Cybercrime and Your Dental Practice. Along with examining types of cyber threats, our analysts cover essential steps to help prevent attacks.
• Data Backup: What’s Your Risk Tolerance? Secure backup is a key to preventing data loss due to cybercrime. Learn more about effective data backup in this article.
• Privacy Violations in the Dental Practice: How They Happen and How to Prevent Them. Some cybercrimes result in patient privacy violations. In this article, risk management analysts offer strategies for maintaining compliance.
• Property Loss Essentials: Prevention and Coverage Considerations. During this 90-minute on-demand seminar, TDIC’s experts provide essential insights and tools to determine if you are adequately prepared with an effective plan to protect your office from a variety of threats, including cybercrime.
• The Federal Trade Commission also offers resources for small businesses to help protect against phishing and other cybersecurity threats. 

Did you know?

Despite the rising threat and potentially catastrophic costs of cybercrime, many small business owners – including dentists – are not prepared to prevent and financially recover from a cyberattack.

• Only 22% of small businesses have increased cybersecurity spending since 2020, even though the rate of attacks is significantly higher.
• Less than 20% of small businesses have some form of cyber insurance coverage.
• 72% of small businesses that purchased cyber insurance only did so after experiencing a cyberattack.

Are you adequately protected?

Maintaining robust cybersecurity in your dental practice can help prevent cyber threats. However, when it comes to mitigating the damage of an actual incident, the importance of a cyber liability insurance policy cannot be overstated.

• TDIC agents note that many practice owners mistakenly assume that losses from cyber incidents will be covered by their commercial property policy. Since cyber coverage is not a standard inclusion, this assumption can lead to a significant coverage gap. Contact your insurance advisor and request a policy review to see if you are adequately covered.

Additional Resources

• Cyber Suite Liability coverage  is available only to TDIC Business Owner’s policyholders. 
• Cyber Liability Insurance is a Necessity for Dental Practices. Read more about cyber coverage, how it protects you and what you should look for in a policy.

Did you know?

• It takes a company 204 days (about 6 and a half months) on average to discover a data breach — and up to 73 days (about 2 and a half months) to contain it, according to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024.
• Companies that discovered and contained a data breach in fewer than 200 days saved $1 million more than those that took more than 200 days. 

Does your dental practice have a cyberattack response plan?

Along with establishing preventative and protective measures to reduce the risk of cyberattacks, it’s important to develop a response plan. Sign in to download TDIC’s Cyber Event Checklist so you can take a proactive approach to a cyberattack or data breach incident.

Cyberattacks can disrupt normal business operations. If your practice systems are affected and you are unable to see patients, you can prepare to handle patient emergencies in the following ways:

• Make arrangements with colleagues in the surrounding area who might be able to accommodate emergency referrals or who are willing to accept a temporary time-sharing arrangement to occupy their office off hours, so that you can resume at least partial patient care until your office is operational.
• If referring patients to another colleague, document discussions with patients and the course of action taken, such as prescribing medications, referring to colleagues, advising to go the nearest hospital, etc.
• If a patient was referred to another colleague, follow up on the status of the referral to determine if the patient was seen and, if so, the services rendered.

More Resources

• Cyber Security Guidance Material. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has educational materials specifically designed to give HIPAA covered entities and business associates information on how to respond to the threat of cybersecurity incidents.
• Referral Letters. A set of three downloadable sample letters for referring a patient, referral replies or findings and patient summary.
• Teledentestry Form. Download this notice and consent form for a patient’s participation in a teledentistry system.
• Essentials of Patient Record and Documentation. This on-demand course offers tips to improve documentation and records, a vital step in ensuring safety for patients in case care needs to be temporarily transferred to another practice.
• Navigating Disrupted Dental Practice Operations. While this article is focused on steps to take in case of practice closure due to natural disasters, much of the advice applies to practices affected by cyberattacks.