Hospital Data Breach: A Wake-Up Call for Visibility, Compliance, and Resilience

• Data breaches in healthcare and biotech now result in operational, legal, and reputational damage with long-term consequences for business operations, legal standing, and public trust.
• Case studies from 23andMe and CrazyHunter show how missed warning signs can lead to collapse.
• This article provides guidance for CISOs and executives to lead a proactive defense rooted in early detection, regulatory readiness, and strategic resilience.

It only takes one missed signal to trigger a crisis. In healthcare and biotech, that crisis can put patient safety at risk, stall innovation, and erase public trust. These sectors are high-value targets, and attackers know their value better than many defenders.

The challenge is compounded by operational complexity, legacy infrastructure, and a regulatory environment that grows more demanding each year. Cybercriminals are adapting faster than organizations can respond, and the consequences of falling behind are steep.

Consider the case of SingHealth, Singapore’s largest healthcare provider. In 2018, the organization failed to act on early signs of intrusion. According to the Committee of Inquiry, a senior manager delayed reporting the attack due to fear of internal pressure. This hesitation allowed attackers to exfiltrate the personal records of 1.5 million patients, including prominent national figures. 

The breach prompted a national investigation and a systemic overhaul, but the damage, both reputational and operational, was already done. The incident underscored the critical importance of early detection and internal accountability in sectors where the stakes are especially high.

This article examines why healthcare and biotech remain top targets for cyberattacks, what recent high-profile breaches reveal about blind spots in leadership and response, and how, in places like Taiwan, these lessons are especially timely as regulatory changes demand stronger accountability and faster action. 

Early detection and proactive coordination can make the difference between disruption and disaster.

Why Healthcare and Biotech Are High Value Targets

Healthcare and biotech organizations operate in a uniquely high-risk environment. They manage vast volumes of sensitive patient data and proprietary research while delivering services that require uninterrupted access and reliability. 

Their digital ecosystems are often sprawling and built on outdated infrastructure, making visibility patchy and vulnerabilities harder to control. Many systems were never designed with modern cyber threats in mind, leading to inconsistent security coverage and exploitable gaps across both clinical and research operations.

Key risk factors:

• Sensitive data. Patient records, genomic data, and clinical trial results are highly lucrative.
• Service uptime. Downtime is unacceptable, making ransomware an effective pressure tactic.
• Legacy infrastructure. Many systems lack basic protections, making exploitation easier.
• IP exposure. Biotech companies are attractive to corporate and state-backed espionage.
• Regulatory exposure. Global and local privacy laws impose steep penalties for breaches.

The average healthcare breach costs nearly $10 million, more than any other industry. The damage extends beyond immediate recovery costs, threatening long-term viability, investor confidence, and stakeholder trust.

To meet these challenges, healthcare and biotech organizations must prioritize early warning capabilities and reduce entry points before attackers strike. External and Internal Attack Surface Management (EASM and IASM) provide the visibility needed to detect vulnerabilities and respond quickly.

While Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) still plays a role, it is reactive and often misses credential stuffing or weak-password logins. A layered defense centered on EASM and IASM is now essential to prevent threats from escalating into crises.

Recent high-profile breaches show what happens when that visibility is lacking, offering cautionary lessons in how operational gaps can rapidly spiral into strategic failure. One of the most devastating examples comes from a company that once seemed poised to lead its field.

The 23andMe Breach that Exposed a Bigger Problem

In 2021, 23andMe entered the public market with a wave of optimism, reaching a peak valuation of $6 billion. By 2023, that optimism had unraveled. Attackers gained access to customer accounts using reused passwords, exposing the genetic and personal data of 7 million users. The breach went undetected for five months.

The following year, under mounting legal pressure and public scrutiny, 23andMe agreed to a $30 million settlement. But the damage was done. In March 2025, the company filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO stepped down. What began as a silent breach ended in collapse, a stark reminder of what can happen when detection fails and leadership is unprepared.

The attack siphoned highly personal data including ancestry and relationship information. Customers, regulators, and investors lost confidence. The downfall accelerated quickly, leaving the company with no chance to rebuild.

What executives must learn:

• Dwell time kills. Undetected threats cause exponential damage.
• Trust is fragile. Public confidence is hard to earn and easy to lose.
• Security is survival. A breach is no longer just an incident. It is an existential risk.

This event shows just how quickly a single point of failure, like credential reuse, can spiral when left unaddressed. It is a timely reminder for organizations to evaluate their detection capabilities and ensure they can act before an attacker gains momentum.

While global examples offer important lessons, regional cases provide context that is even more relevant to organizations operating within similar systems, technologies, and regulatory expectations.

CrazyHunter

In early 2025, a ransomware group known as CrazyHunter began targeting organizations in Taiwan, including hospitals, universities, and manufacturers. The group assembled its attack toolkit almost entirely from open-source tools, using platforms like GitHub to access malware builders and evasion techniques.

One of their most damaging tactics involved exploiting legitimate but vulnerable software drivers to bypass endpoint protections. Their ransomware campaigns encrypted critical systems and left notes demanding payment, with multiple Taiwanese victims listed on their leak site.

Key takeaways for executives:

• Open-source exploitation. Publicly available tools now power highly targeted attacks.
• Advanced evasion. Attackers exploited vulnerable drivers to silently disable endpoint protections. 
• Focused targeting. Taiwanese organizations were prioritized, indicating strategic intent.
• Preemptive defense. Early detection, access control, and timely updates are critical.

CrazyHunter’s campaign shows how attackers using free, open-source tools can still inflict major disruption when organizations lack early detection and layered defenses. These events underscore the pressure Taiwan’s regulators now face to act decisively.

Taiwan’s PDPA and the Regulatory Shift

Taiwan is finalizing amendments to its Personal Data Protection Act, expected to take effect in 2025. A new Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) will oversee enforcement and have authority across public and private sectors.

Under the new PDPC amendments, fines can be issued up to NT$15 million (US$500,000) for violations such as unauthorized data collection, unreported breaches, and poor protection of sensitive information. Penalties can take effect immediately and increase with delayed remediation. 

Non-governmental organizations are also subject to inspection, with high-risk sectors audited based on data volume and breach patterns.

What leaders need to know:

• Boards are now directly accountable for data protection performance.
• Organizations must implement technical safeguards such as encryption, access controls, and regular security audits.
• Breach response must be fast, well-coordinated, and fully documented.
• The risks of non-compliance now include immediate financial penalties and long-term reputational harm.

These requirements highlight a broader evolution toward proactive cyber risk governance. Addressing regulatory requirements is only one part of a much larger equation. To reduce exposure and stay ahead of today’s advanced threats, organizations must integrate compliance efforts with continuous threat monitoring, early detection, and cohesive security operations.

What comes next requires more than adherence to standards. It calls for executive-driven resilience that anticipates risk and activates response before damage occurs.

From Reactive to Resilient

SingHealth and 23andMe did not fail because they lacked tools. They failed because they lacked visibility and resiliency. These are not isolated failures. They illustrate how slow signals and fragmented oversight can compound into full-blown organizational breakdowns.

Taiwan’s updated privacy law reinforces the urgency of early threat detection and coordinated response. Security leaders must strengthen visibility through EASM and IASM, while treating EDR as a supporting measure, not the foundation. 

The CrazyHunter ransomware campaign reinforces this point. By exploiting free, open-source tools and slipping past endpoint protections, attackers struck critical Taiwanese institutions with speed and precision.

These developments point to a larger truth. Security outcomes hinge on leadership that prioritizes visibility, allocates resources according to risk, and builds operational readiness across every layer of the organization.

 “At CyCraft, we’ve seen how fast attackers adapt—and believe defense must move even faster. During the CrazyHunter attacks in Taiwan, we proactively helped healthcare organizations uncover hidden exposures. By combining early detection with external and internal attack surface management, we enabled them to act with urgency, close compliance gaps, and build lasting cyber resilience through threat-informed defense.”—Benson Wu, CEO and Co-founder, CyCraft  

Integrating these capabilities into core strategy is how institutions earn resilience and preserve trust in the face of escalating threats.

Take the next step. Contact CyCraft to assess your attack surface and explore how early detection and response solutions can protect your patients, your data, and your organization. Schedule a demo today.