The hackers reportedly had infiltrated the network of UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare division for several days before launching the ransomware attack.
They breached the network on February 12 using compromised credentials on an application that allows employees to access systems remotely, The Wall Street Journal reported. report Monday (April 22nd).
They were in the system for nine days before launching the attack on February 21st and may have been able to steal a “substantial” amount of data, Seeking Alpha report Monday, citing a WSJ article.
Change Healthcare has posted its first update report connection problems February On the 21st, the company said that “some applications are currently unavailable,” and that it was prioritizing the issue.
April 16th, United Health Group CEO Andrew Whitty This was stated at the financial results conference. cyber attack It cost the company $872 million.
Whitty said the incident was “truly an attack on the American health care system, designed to cause maximum damage,” adding, “We came through very well in terms of repair and recovery. I think so,” he added.
In response to this attack, the federal government announced a $10 million reward to help identify the person behind the organization that launched the attack. Ransomware as a service Group ALPHV Black Cat.
Additionally, U.S. Sen. Mark R. WarnerVirginia introduced a bill to accelerate Medicare payments to recession-hit health care providers. cyber attack.
The bill reads, “Healthcare Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2024” aims to encourage cybersecurity in the healthcare industry.
“The recent hack against Change Healthcare is a reminder that the entire healthcare industry is vulnerable and needs to step up its efforts,” Warner said in a March 22 press release announcing the bill's introduction. Stated. “This legislation will provide significant economic incentives for providers and vendors to do so.”
PYMNTS Intelligence found that 82% of e-commerce sellers have experienced a cyberattack or data breach last year. According to “, 47% of these sellers said the breach resulted in both revenue loss and customer loss.Managing fraud in online transactions”, PYMNTS Intelligence and Nubei collaboration.
