A cyberattack on a subsidiary of a major health insurance company has crippled large swaths of the U.S. health care system, according to multiple reports.
Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of United Health Group, announced Thursday that it had suffered a cyberattack from a ransomware group. according to To the Associated Press. The attack halted everything from approving prescriptions and medical procedures to payroll for healthcare provider employees, The New York Times reported. report. (Related: 'We never paid a ransom': President Trump slams Biden over Iran hostage exchange)
Affiliates of ALPHV Blackcat ransomware continue to victimize critical infrastructure entities, particularly in the healthcare sector.Check out new TTPs, IOCs, and mitigations in updated joints #CybersecurityAdvisory from #FBI, @CISAgov and @HHSgov: https://t.co/Engzmmc8nd pic.twitter.com/3gA0dPXcYV
— FBI (@FBI) February 28, 2024
“On February 21, 2024, we discovered that an attacker gained access to one of our Change Healthcare environments,” United Health Group announced. Website Provides up-to-date information on attack response. “After becoming aware of the external threat, we took immediate action to protect our partners and patients by disconnecting Change Healthcare's systems to prevent further impact.”
Change Healthcare's closure has delayed payments from insurance companies, leaving health care providers across the country scrambling to fill potential funding gaps, and several Ohio urgent care facility owners struggling to pay their staff. The NYT reported that many of them have resorted to loans and diluted their personal savings to pay for their expenses. A Florida cancer treatment facility has signed a deal with two competing clearinghouses to help it buy more than $300 million in chemotherapy drugs, according to the New York Times.
Change Healthcare processes about 15 billion claims a year, worth more than $1.5 trillion, or about half of all claims in the country, the Washington Post reported. report. One woman told the Post she had to pay cash for her prescription, which cost $1,700.
AlphV, or BlackCat, the group blamed for the ransomware attack, received a $22 million payment in Bitcoin on Friday. according to Go wired.
“HHS is in regular contact with UHG leadership, state partners, and numerous external stakeholders to better understand the nature of the impact and ensure the effectiveness of UHG's response.” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. statement It was released on Tuesday. “HHS has been clear that it expects UHG to do everything in its power to ensure business continuity for all affected healthcare providers, and HHS highly commends UHG’s continued efforts to do so.” I am evaluating it.”
“HHS also works closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the White House, and other agencies to provide “We are leading the interagency coordination of related activities. We will keep industry informed as much as possible,” the statement continued.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
