Minneapolis, Minnesota – UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, revealed in a filing with government regulators that its subsidiary Change Healthcare experienced a major cybersecurity incident likely caused by government-backed hackers. The company did not specify a timeframe for when its systems would be back online and did not attribute the cyberattack to a specific nation or government.
Change Healthcare, which provides patient billing services across the U.S. healthcare system, processes billions of healthcare transactions annually and handles around one-third of U.S. patient records, impacting approximately 100 million Americans. Pharmacies across the U.S. reported being unable to fill prescriptions through patients’ insurance due to the ongoing outage at Change Healthcare, causing widespread disruption in the healthcare industry.
The cyberattack, which began early Wednesday, has not been disclosed in specific detail by Change Healthcare, but it has affected numerous individuals and entities in the healthcare space. The company’s incident tracker indicates ongoing issues, and several healthcare workers have reported experiencing downtime as a result of the cyberattack.
UnitedHealth Group stated in its filing that it has enlisted the help of leading security experts and is collaborating with law enforcement, while also notifying customers, clients, and certain government agencies. The company did not mention a specific nation or government as the source of the cyberattack but has taken steps to address the situation.
The cyberattack on Change Healthcare has raised concerns about the vulnerability of critical healthcare systems to malicious actors, prompting calls for greater cybersecurity measures and vigilance within the healthcare industry. As the healthcare sector becomes increasingly reliant on digital systems and data processing, the need for robust cybersecurity protocols has become more apparent.
The ongoing cyberattack highlights the far-reaching implications of cybersecurity incidents in critical sectors, emphasizing the need for constant vigilance and preparedness to mitigate potential risks and safeguard sensitive information. As the investigation into the cyberattack continues, both UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare are working to address the incident and secure their systems against future threats.