In February, Change Healthcare, a tech firm owned by UnitedHealth Group (UHG), underwent an enormous cyberattack that concerned paying a $22 million ransom to resolve.
On Thursday, UHG quantified the variety of individuals affected by the assault for the primary time, eight months after the breach occurred. A brand new submitting within the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies portal on Thursday reveals that one-third of the U.S. inhabitants, or about 100 million People, had their knowledge stolen in the course of the breach.
The cyberattack uncovered delicate well being data, like medical diagnoses, take a look at outcomes, drugs, and well being plans, in addition to Social Safety numbers and different personally identifiable info.
Associated: UnitedHealth Paid Ransom to Cyberhackers After Sufferers’ Private Knowledge Was Compromised
The scope of the assault makes it the most important healthcare knowledge breach ever, surpassing an Anthem incident in 2015 that affected nearly 79 million People.
In accordance with a sworn statement given by UHG CEO Andrew Witty earlier than the Home Vitality and Commerce Committee, the info breach occurred when “criminals used compromised credentials” to get right into a Change healthcare portal that didn’t have multi-factor authentication enabled. Change handles cost processing for 15 billion medical claims per 12 months or about 40% of all claims; UHG acquired it in late 2022.
UHG CEO Andrew Witty. Photograph Credit score: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Photographs
The cyberattack disrupted every day life ā some medical suppliers, hospitals, and pharmacies had been unable to satisfy affected person prescriptions and course of billing for sufferers for weeks after it occurred.
The U.S. is experiencing an total enhance in knowledge breaches. The nonprofit Identification Theft Useful resource Heart says there was a 72% rise in incidents from 2021 to 2023.
Associated: A Cyberattack on the Largest Well being Insurer within the U.S. May Put Your Prescriptions and Private Knowledge at Threat
