Ransomware Rampage: Change Healthcare’s $1B Data Breach Disaster
Change Healthcare is alerting pharmacies and hospitals that ransomware thieves stole patient data back in February. The stolen info could impact a substantial portion of Americans. The company has disclosed the types of swiped data for the first time. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector remains a prime target for ransomware attacks.
Hot Take:
Change Healthcare’s data breach: because who doesn’t want their medical history to be a summer blockbuster for cybercriminals?
Key Points:
- Change Healthcare’s data breach exposed sensitive patient data to ransomware criminals.
- The exposed data includes names, dates of birth, phone numbers, and email addresses.
- UnitedHealth, Change’s parent company, estimated the stolen files could cover a substantial portion of the U.S. population.
- The attack was executed by ALPHV affiliates using stolen credentials to access a Citrix-based management portal.
- The costs associated with the attack are nearing $1 billion, with UnitedHealth paying $22 million to the extortionists.
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