Email security risks healthcare IT can’t afford to ignore
92% of healthcare IT leaders say they’re confident in their ability to prevent email-based data breaches, but according to Paubox, they’re not.
Healthcare compliance confidence gap
Email remains one of the biggest security risks in healthcare. Outdated systems and frustrating tools often lead staff to bypass security measures, leaving patient data exposed.
Despite their confidence, many healthcare IT leaders admit they’re uncertain about HIPAA compliance. A deeper issue is the gap between security goals and real-world implementation. Teams often face limited resources, competing priorities, and resistance to change, all of which lead to inaction. Even with growing awareness of email threats, these challenges make it hard to move forward.Healthcare IT leaders identified a wide range of internal and external barriers that consistently delay the adoption of HIPAA-compliant email solutions.
What’s holding teams back
One of the biggest challenges for healthcare IT teams is dealing with outdated systems. Replacing old technology or adding new security measures to it is often complicated and time-consuming.
Limited vendor support means many teams are left to troubleshoot on their own. Staffing shortages and resistance from leadership add to the pressure.
Old systems are deeply embedded, making change even harder. Budget constraints and concerns about disrupting workflows force IT teams to walk a tightrope balancing data protection with daily operations.
User readiness is also a concern. Some patients struggle with email, and security training for staff is often inconsistent. All of this makes improving email security a tough, multi-layered task.
AI-powered threat detection
Cybercriminals have gotten better. They use AI to create emails that look real and target people like billing staff, HR, and doctors, not just executives.
Traditional filters can’t keep up. Many healthcare systems still use basic tools that miss these advanced threats. Only 44% of healthcare organizations use AI-powered threat detection, even though 89% say it’s critical for detecting email threats.
To stay safe, organizations need smarter, AI-powered tools that adapt and detect threats automatically.
“We’ve seen email threats evolve faster than some of the tools meant to stop them,” said Hoala Greevy, CEO of Paubox. “It’s not just about phishing anymore, it’s about deception at scale.”
Friction kills security
If an email security system creates frustration, it will be bypassed. We’ve seen it time and again, patients giving up on portals and administrators manually sending protected health information (PHI) because the official system is too slow.
The most secure systems are the ones that don’t get in the way. They work silently, blending into everyday workflows without causing delays or confusion.
“As a cybersecurity consulting practice engaging with hundreds of organizations annually, we consistently observe a critical gap in email security practices,” says Andrew Hicks, Partner and National HITRUST Practice Lead at Frazier & Dieter Advisory.
“Too often, organizations rely on infosec policies, user training, or manually enforced controls—rather than implementing automated, policy-driven email encryption solutions. This overreliance on human-dependent safeguards introduces unnecessary risk and undermines the integrity of outbound email protection strategies,” Hicks concluded.