Evaluate the potential impact of cyberattacks on patient privacy, clinical outcomes, and the healthcare organization’s financial resources.

Cyberattacks pose significant risks to patient privacy, clinical outcomes, and the financial resources of healthcare organizations. Patient privacy breaches can result in the exposure of sensitive medical records, leading to identity theft, fraud, and reputational damage for both patients and providers. Manipulation or destruction of clinical data may compromise patient care, potentially endangering lives if critical information is altered or unavailable when needed. The financial impact of cyberattacks is complex, encompassing direct costs associated with incident response. Ransomware has become a way to take entire systems hostage. “A ransomware attack on Brno University Hospital in the Czech Republic, a key COVID-19 testing center, led to the postponement of surgeries. The infection prompted the hospital to disconnect all computer networks as the ransomware spread and individual systems failed. The hospital is still in the process of recovering capabilities and is not fully operational following the attack” (He et al., 2021, para. 23). Indirect costs may include lost revenue due to operational disruptions, decreased and productivity. Moreover, healthcare organizations may face regulatory fines and penalties for non-compliance with data protection laws, further exacerbating financial strains.