Digital Fragility in Healthcare: A Comparative Study of Cybersecurity Breaches in Indiaand Global Health Systems (2010–2024)

Background: Healthcare systems are rapidly digitizing, bringing both efficiency gains and new vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity breaches in hospitals can compromise patient safety, disrupt clinical services, and erode public trust. While global literature on healthcare cyberattacks is growing, India-specific analyses remain sparse. Objectives: To document and analyze major cybersecurity incidents in Indian hospitals between 2010 and 2024, compare them with global cases, and identify patterns, systemic vulnerabilities, and lessons for policy and institutional resilience. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical descriptive study used secondary data from January 2010 to June 2024. Data sources included media reports, institutional disclosures, government advisories, and cyber forensic analyses. Incidents were coded by year, institution, location, attack type, affected systems, impact, and mitigation measures. Acomparative review of high-profile international cases was undertaken to identify crosscontext lessons. Results: Sixteen major Indian incidents and twelve global cases met inclusion criteria. Ransomware was the most prevalent attack type (56% India; 58% global), frequently targeting Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and Electronic Health Records (EHR). Indian breaches often led to manual operations, diagnostic delays, and underreporting due to lack of mandatory disclosure norms. Global cases demonstrated stronger recovery protocols and regulatory frameworks. Conclusions: Cybersecurity in healthcare should be treated as a public health priority. India's increasing reliance on digital health platforms requires immediate reforms, including mandatory breach reporting, cybersecurity accreditation in hospital quality standards, dedicated funding, and integration of cyber-disaster preparedness into health governance.