Dental Offices Are at Risk: The True Value of Patient Data

In 2023, it was reported that ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry impacted around 60% of medical organizations. In 2025, there’s every indication that healthcare data breach risks have gone up due to hackers becoming more advanced, and dental offices being slow to adapt to the changing tide.

Healthcare is actually one of the most targeted sectors for cybercriminals. This can be due to many factors, but the bottom line is that healthcare providers have extremely sensitive data. Data such as names, credit card information, SSNs, and more all fetch an extremely high price on the dark web.

So, if you own a dental office or are part of one, we’ll explain why dental office cybersecurity is a must for proper patient data protection.

Photo by Fox

Why Patient Data Is a Hacker’s Goldmine

Sensitive data you may give to your dental provider can be things such as your name, address, SSN, insurance data, medical history, prescription details, billing information, and more.

These can be used for a number of attacks such as identity theft, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, extortion, and others.

Reportedly, a single medical record can sell for $250-$1,000 on the dark web, greatly exceeding the value of a stolen credit card, which won’t exceed $5. A lot of these hackers see dental offices as easy targets, so we’ll explain just why they think that.

Why Dental Offices Are Seen as “Easy Targets”

HIPAA compliance for dentists is a serious requirement when starting a practice. Dental offices agree to handling data responsibly and maintaining trust between you and your healthcare provider.

But in one study, 78% of dental practices were found to be at a high risk for security vulnerabilities. With a common issue being lack of encryption of backup drives or devices.

The reason for the “easy target” label from hackers is because dental office cybersecurity is often overlooked. They may be using outdated software, weak passwords, lack of cybersecurity training by staff, and lack of funding for a cybersecurity provider.

Next, we’ll go over some real-world attacks targeted on dental offices to really see the outcome of not having strong patient data protection.

Real-World Dental Office Hacks

One ransomware attack on a dental office in Indianapolis exposed patient data, resulting in a $350,000 settlement. The thing is that the attack wasn’t reported until 2 years later. This attack alone emphasizes the healthcare data breach risks and the need for dental office cybersecurity.

In another case, Aspen Dental was hit by a cyberattack in 2023, which shut down appointment scheduling systems, phone systems, and other business applications. It was unclear if any patient files were breached or not. For a business the size of Aspen Dental, the cost of downtime would be around $336,000 per hour.

Overall, the risk is clear. Attackers will target you for your patient data or attack your business directly. Not having cybersecurity for your dental office can result in you paying for HIPAA fines, ransomware payments, loss of business from downtime, and loss of reputation.

So, to properly protect your patient data and stay HIPAA compliant, here’s how you can fortify your defenses.

Photo by WFLA

How to Fortify Your Dental Office Against Cybersecurity

Patient data protection is crucial for operating as a dental office and staying HIPAA compliant. So here are some ways you can fortify your dental office cybersecurity:

• Employee Training: 95% of breaches are caused by human error. All it takes is one click of a phishing email or scam text on the office WIFI to let attackers in. Conducting employee training is necessary to have a strong cybersecurity environment.
• Strong Passwords and MFA: Using 16+ character unique passwords and implementing MFA will reduce your risk of data breaches. We recommend using a password manager to help store the unique passwords.
• Data Encryption, Secure Backups, and Offsite Storage: Data encryption is like scrambling your data and only being able to unscramble it with the right key. Doing that and backing up data will help in the event of a breach. It’s recommended to keep at least one backup offline and off-site.
• Annual HIPAA Compliance Reviews: While HIPAA doesn’t mandate annual reviews, it’s best to do your own compliance review at least once a year. This is to protect your sensitive patient data, reduce risk of fines, and find any gaps in your security infrastructure.
• Partnering With a Managed IT & Cybersecurity Provider: If what you’ve read so far seems like too much, we would recommend finding a partner who does it for a living. Managed IT & cybersecurity providers are able to provide patient data protection for dental offices and keep them HIPAA compliant. These providers often come with a team of experts, 24/7 monitoring, proactive maintenance and support, and are cost-effective.

Photo by AAFCPAs

Strengthening Your Dental Office Cybersecurity

Dental offices are full of sensitive patient data, and cybercriminals know this. But protecting your practice isn’t just about compliance; it’s about trust, reputation, and business continuity.

Now is the time to close the gaps. With expert support and proactive protection, you can stay ahead of the threats and keep your patient data protected with Kirkham IronTech.

We’ve helped multiple dental offices strengthen their cybersecurity and stay HIPAA compliant. With us being a top 250 MSSP, our clients can trust us to protect their sensitive client data. If you’re looking to strengthen your dental office cybersecurity, give us a call at (479)-434-1400 or visit our website at www.kirkhamirontech.com. Because when patient data is on the line, companies choose us to protect it.