About & methodology

One sourced record per dental cyber incident. Claims arrive in near real time; confirmations arrive slower. We show you which is which.

Sources and lag

Source	Lag	Notes
HHS OCR Breach Portal (current and archive)	weeks to months	Public; 500+ people only
State AG lists (CA, TX, WA, OR, ME, MA, IN, NH, DE, MT, VT)	days	Check each site's terms
RansomLook	minutes to hours	CC BY 4.0, credit required; metadata only
ransomware.live	30 min	Cross-check only
NPI Registry, state business registries	n/a	Entity matching
SEC EDGAR 8-K Item 1.05, CISA KEV/advisories, news RSS	same day to 4 business days	Vendor/software pages

Incident volume

About 8 to 9 new US dental cyber incidents surface every month, and 16 in October 2026 alone.

US leak-site claims6.2

HHS hacking filings (open cases)2.7

CA AG-only notices0.2

Overlap removed−0.5

Distinct US incidents~8.5

International claims2.2

Worldwide~11

12-month averages, Nov 2025 – Oct 2026, counted Nov 1 2026. October 2026: 11 US leak claims and about 23 distinct events worldwide. These are floors. Sources: ransomware.live victim data (cross-check use), HHS OCR portal (open cases), CA AG list.

Status definitions

Badges are independent and stack. A record usually moves left to right, but can skip steps. Every badge pairs an icon with a label and never relies on color alone. A record is marked Refuted only with a linked source.

STEP 1

Claim reportedA threat group posted a claim on a leak site. It is not verified.

Source: Leak-site metadata
Typical lag: Minutes to hours
Records now: 184

STEP 2

CorroboratedAn independent outlet or the organization confirmed the incident.

Source: News or the organization
Typical lag: Same day to days
Records now: 47

STEP 3

Regulator filing locatedFound on the HHS OCR portal or a state AG list.

Source: HHS OCR, state AG lists
Typical lag: Days (AG) to months (HHS)
Records now: 134

STEP 4

Enforcement actionA settlement, consent judgment or penalty is on record.

Source: Courts, AGs, HHS
Typical lag: After investigation
Records now: 11

Off-track statusesThese badges pause or close a record. They are not steps.

ⓘUNDER REVIEW

DisputedSomeone with standing challenged this record. It stays visible with the challenge noted while we review the evidence.

Lakeview Dental · OHDisputed

Stays live and indexed while we review
Disputed banner links the challenge on the record
Watchers get one status-changed alert

Source: Right-of-reply request, organization statement
Typical lag: Review within 5 business days
Records now: 0 · none under review

Corrections log →

⊘CLOSED

RefutedReliable evidence shows the claim is false: the organization showed it was not affected, the threat group withdrew or misattributed the post, or a regulator or court record contradicts it.

Lakeview Dental · OHRefuted

Kept visible, struck through, with evidence links
Removed from counters, map, stats and alerts
Hidden from search engines (noindex)
Never applied without a linked source

Source: Organization statement, correction, regulator or court record
Typical lag: Same day to weeks
Records now: 0 · none refuted to date

Naming rule: a single-office practice with only a claim displays as "Dental practice · [state]" until corroborated. A filing does not imply negligence.

Coverage limitsHHS lists only breaches affecting 500 or more people. Many states publish nothing.

Entity matchingNPI Registry and state business registries join DBA and legal names.

Naming ruleA single-office practice with only a claim displays as "Dental practice · [state]" until corroborated.

Editorial independenceSponsors appear only on newsletter and Index pages, never on incident pages.