91.5K Patients Affected by Healthcare Data Breach

Author

Taylor Hawes
February 23, 2026

🔎 Cyber Watch 🔎

91.5K Patients Affected by Healthcare Data Breach

A data breach tied to a third-party software provider used by several U.S. healthcare organizations has exposed sensitive information for 91,513 patients. The breach stems from a compromise of UnitedLayer, a private cloud solution provider. Threat actors reportedly had access for nearly a year before detection, allowing personal and health insurance data to be exposed. Affected facilities are notifying patients and offering identity protection services. This incident highlights how third-party software risks can cascade into major healthcare privacy failures.

Key takeaway

  • Third-party vendor compromise led to sensitive patient data exposure.

  • Long dwell time emphasizes need for continuous monitoring.

  • Healthcare entities now face increased pressure to secure vendor ecosystems.

🎙️ Tech Briefing On‑Air 🎙️

How AI Broke Cybersecurity

AI tools accelerate both attack and defense capabilities, reshaping threats and protective strategies. Experts highlight how automated attacks, AI-generated phishing campaigns, and machine learning-driven vulnerabilities challenge traditional security models. The mitigation strategies can include improved AI governance, layered security controls, and human-in-the-loop review mechanisms. However, at its core, decision-makers must understand where AI amplifies risk and which defensive tactics are effective in practice.

Takeaways

  • AI accelerates cyber threats and automates complex attack vectors.

  • Defenders must combine AI tools with human oversight.

  • AI governance and robust monitoring are essential for resilient security.

🤝 Partner Intel 🤝

Guardz

Guardz is a cybersecurity platform built mainly for small and mid-sized businesses and managed service providers. It combines endpoint protection, email security, identity monitoring, cloud protection, threat detection, and security awareness training into a single cloud-based system. A defining feature is its integrated cyber insurance, which is linked to continuous risk monitoring so coverage aligns with a company’s security posture. The platform focuses on automation, real-time alerts, and simplified management to help smaller organizations handle ransomware, phishing, and account compromise without large in-house security teams.

🤖 AI Runtime 🤖

Treasury Releases Financial Services Guidance

The U.S. Treasury Department released new resources to help financial institutions adopt and secure AI technologies. The guidance includes an AI lexicon tailored for financial use cases and a sector-specific version of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework. These documents aim to support secure, compliant AI usage without prescribing strict rules. The Treasury emphasises practical implementation, collaboration with regulators, and alignment with risk controls. Financial firms are encouraged to evaluate their AI maturity and adopt controls that match their operational and regulatory contexts.

đź“Š By the Numbers đź“Š

🗳️ Your Monday Take 🗳️

Cast your vote on our weekly poll.

What do you believe is the first real point of failure in most cyber attacks?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

📩 We’ll share the results in the Friday issue.

Advertise with Comparitech
Does your business offer services or products in cybersecurity? Get your product seen by IT leaders and professionals.

Advertise with us →

Until Friday’s edition - Let’s keep that zero-day count at zero!