UnitedHealth paid ransom after massive Change Healthcare cyberattack

The Russia-based cybercriminals who attacked a UnitedHealth Group-owned institution successful February did not locomotion distant from nan endeavor empty-handed. 

"A ransom was paid arsenic portion of nan company's committedness to do each it could to protect diligent information from disclosure," a UnitedHealth Group spokesperson confirmed pinch CBS News precocious Monday. 

The spokesperson did not disclose really overmuch nan wellness elephantine paid aft nan cyberattack, which unopen down operations at hospitals and pharmacies for much than a week. Multiple media sources person reported that UnitedHealth paid $22 million successful nan shape of bitcoin. 

"We cognize this onslaught has caused interest and been disruptive for consumers and providers and we are committed to doing everything imaginable to thief and supply support to anyone who whitethorn request it," UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty said successful a connection Monday.

UnitedHealth blamed the breach connected a Russian ransomware pack known arsenic ALPHV aliases BlackCat. The group itself claimed responsibility for nan attack, alleging it stole much than six terabytes of data, including "sensitive" aesculapian records, from Change Healthcare, which processes wellness security claims for patients who visited hospitals, aesculapian centers aliases pharmacies.

The standard of nan onslaught — Change Healthcare processes 15 cardinal transactions a year, according to nan American Hospital Association —meant that moreover patients weren't customers of UnitedHealth were perchance affected. The onslaught has already cost UnitedHealth Group astir $900 million, institution officials said successful reporting first-quarter net past week.

Ransomware attacks, which involve disabling a target's machine systems, person go progressively communal wrong nan wellness attraction industry. The yearly number of ransomware attacks against hospitals and different providers doubled from 2016 to 2021, according to a 2022 study published successful JAMA Health Forum.

The Change Healthcare incident was "straight retired an onslaught connected nan U.S. wellness strategy and designed to create maximum damage,"  Witty told analysts during an net telephone past week. Ultimately, nan cyberattack is expected to costs UnitedHealth betwixt $1.3 cardinal and $1.6 cardinal this year, nan institution projected successful its net report.

In:
• UnitedHealth Group
• Ransomware