Applied Sciences
| Open Access |
DOI: Securing Healthcare Transactions in AI-Augmented Systems: A Comprehensive Framework for Enhanced Cybersecurity in Health Insurance Operations
Naga Sai Mrunal Vuppala , Senior Software Engineer, Dallas, Texas, USA Devdas Gupta , IEEE Senior Member, Austin, Texas, USA Shilpi Yadav , Technical Solution Architect, Durham, North Carolina, USAAbstract
The healthcare insurance sector processes over $4.3 trillion annually in global transactions, with artificial intelligence (AI) adoption increasing from 23% in 2019 to 78% of major insurers by 2024. This study presents a novel multi-layered security framework designed to address critical vulnerabilities inherent in AI-augmented healthcare transactions. Through a comprehensive analysis of 2,847 security incidents recorded between 2019 and 2024, real-world data from major breach databases, and an evaluation of 93 health insurers' AI implementations, we identify three primary threat vectors: data-centric attacks (47% of incidents), model-centric vulnerabilities (31%), and ethical-compliance breaches (22%). With healthcare data breaches costing an average of $9.77 million per incident in 2024—the highest across all industries for the 14th consecutive year—the need for robust security is paramount. AI-specific security incidents have grown exponentially from 7 incidents (1.8% of total) in 2019 to 219 incidents (29.8% of total) in 2024. Our proposed framework integrates Zero Trust Architecture, privacy-enhancing technologies, blockchain immutability, and AI governance protocols. Empirical validation across three pilot organizations demonstrated a 74% reduction in security incidents, a 26% improvement in compliance metrics, and a 28% enhancement in transaction processing efficiency, with an average return on investment (ROI) timeline of 16 months. Statistical analysis reveals significant threat pattern distributions (χ² = 273.98, p < 0.001), supporting the framework's targeted approach to mitigating emerging AI vulnerabilities.
Keywords
Healthcare cybersecurity, AI security, health insurance, privacy-enhancing technologies, zero trust architecture, blockchain, healthcare transactions
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Copyright (c) 2025 Naga Sai Mrunal Vuppala, Devdas Gupta, Shilpi Yadav
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