Health insurance company UnitedHealth has identified Black Cat as the group behind a debilitating cyber attack that disrupted healthcare providers across the United States. Reuters has reported. The attack shut down United-owned Change Healthcare System for more than a week and disrupted payments at hospitals, clinics and pharmacies across the country.
Because Change Healthcare acts as an intermediary between healthcare providers and insurance companies, this breach disrupts routine transactions such as e-pharmacy refills and new insurance claims. The company first identified suspicious activity on its IT systems on February 21, according to an SEC filing.
UnitedHealth Group Chief Operating Officer Dirk McMahon told STAT that the breach could last several weeks. Insurers, meanwhile, are launching loan programs for health care providers.
Federal agencies, including CISA and the FBI, warned in a joint cybersecurity advisory that Blackcat is now intentionally targeting healthcare systems. “Of the nearly 70 data breach victims since mid-December 2023, the healthcare sector has been the most affected,” the agency wrote.
The US government is even offering rewards totaling $15 million for actionable information regarding the group's whereabouts. Last year, an FBI attempt to seize Blackcat's servers and sites appeared unsuccessful, but the group quickly regained control.
In a darknet message that was later deleted on Wednesday, Black Cat also claimed to have stolen millions of patient records, including sensitive medical and insurance data, in the UnitedHealth breach. Reuters report. In the same message, the group also admitted to stealing data from Medicare, Tricare, and even CVS Health. No details were provided about the timing of these breaches, and the messages were reportedly deleted without explanation. Reuters We were unable to contact the hackers or verify their claims.
The theft of sensitive records from UnitedHealth alone could affect millions of people. In a letter sent Monday, the American Hospital Association told HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra that Change Healthcare handles nearly one in three patient records in the United States. “Prolonged disruptions to the Change Healthcare system will adversely impact the ability of many hospitals to provide complete health care services to their communities,” wrote AHA President Richard J. Pollack. .
UnitedHealth is currently working with Mandiant, a Google company, and cybersecurity software vendor Palo Alto Networks. CNBC I will report it. The company did not say whether it plans to pay the ransom.
