Change Healthcare has started informing hospitals, insurers, and other clients about a major cyberattack that may have exposed sensitive patient information. 

Change Healthcare Starts Notifying Affected Customers

According to the Associated Press, this notification marks the beginning of a long and complex aftermath of a security breach that occurred earlier this year.

In a recent statement, Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of the healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group, also announced that individual patients affected by the breach would begin receiving notifications by late July. 

The company, which handles the technology for processing billions of insurance claims annually, became the target of hackers in February. The attackers unleashed a ransomware assault, encrypting and freezing significant portions of the company's system.

Change Healthcare has disclosed that the attackers may have accessed names, addresses, health insurance details, and personal information such as Social Security numbers. 

The investigation is ongoing, but the company has reviewed over 90% of the compromised files and found no evidence that complete medical histories or doctors' charts were taken.

In the wake of the attack, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said during Congressional hearings that the company paid a ransom of $22 million in bitcoin to regain access to their systems.

Witty assured that all core systems, including claims payment and pharmacy processing, were working post-attack. Change Healthcare offers two years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection to individuals concerned about their exposed information to mitigate concerns.

This step provides some reassurance amid the ongoing investigation and recovery process.

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Increasing Vulnerability of the Healthcare Sector

The attack on Change Healthcare underscored a broader issue affecting the healthcare industry: the increasing vulnerability of hospitals and other medical institutions to cyberattacks. 

Experts warned that hospitals expanding their digital footprints creates more opportunities for cybercriminals to infiltrate their networks and hold critical systems hostage.

John Riggi, cybersecurity adviser for the American Hospital Association, noted that the proliferation of network and internet-connected technology has expanded the digital attack surface, making it easier for cybercriminals to penetrate healthcare networks.

This expansion has had unintended consequences, providing more entry points for attackers. Brett Callow from cybersecurity firm Emsisoft highlighted a troubling trend: the frequency of cyberattacks on hospitals has surged dramatically.

He reported 46 incidents in the past year, up from 25 in 2022. This increase is not just in the number of attacks but also in cybercriminals' financial demands. Average ransom payments have skyrocketed from $5,000 in 2018 to $1.5 million last year.

Callow stressed the need for governments to take decisive measures to prohibit ransom payments by cyberattack victims, such as hospitals, and educational institutions. Read more about what these experts have to say here. 

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