Change Healthcare Blames Ransomware Attack for Nationwide Outage

Change Healthcare, a prominent US health technology company, faces a prolonged disruption due to a ransomware attack, resulting in widespread outages affecting hospitals and pharmacies nationwide.

(Photo : Louis Reed from Unsplash)

The US healthcare giant Change Healthcare is the latest victim of a cyberattack following a sudden network interruption that took place on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

Blaming Ransomware for Nationwide Attack

Attributed to the BlackCat ransomware group, the cyberattack has been ongoing for the past week, causing significant operational challenges. Change Healthcare has confirmed the cyberattack's connection to the BlackCat group during a briefing with company executives.

In ransomware and extortion incidents, TechCrunch reported that hackers usually leak some of the stolen data to coerce victims into paying a ransom. These attacks involve cybercriminals encrypting files and demanding a ransom in return for the decryption key.

Recent cyberattacks also frequently involve data theft before encryption. The status of patient data in the ransomware incident remains uncertain.

UnitedHealth Group, the parent entity of Change Healthcare and the largest health insurance provider in the US, disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that it detected a "suspected nation-state" actor within its systems.

However, the company did not directly attribute the cyberattack to any particular government or state. The accuracy of UnitedHealth Group's attribution of the cyberattack is still in question, as cybersecurity experts have not previously associated the BlackCat group with any nation-state or government entity.

Prominent Figure in American Healthcare Technology

Change Healthcare stands as one of the nation's primary processors of prescription medications, facilitating prescription management and billing for more than 67,000 pharmacies across the US healthcare landscape.

With a staggering volume of 15 billion healthcare transactions annually, equivalent to approximately one-third of all patient records in the US, Change Healthcare plays a pivotal role in the healthcare ecosystem.

In a significant development, Change Healthcare merged with Optum, a leading healthcare provider, in 2022, in a substantial $7.8 billion transaction under the umbrella of UnitedHealth Group.

This merger not only solidified Change Healthcare's position but also granted Optum extensive access to the vast repository of patient records managed by Change Healthcare.

UnitedHealth Group, a juggernaut in the healthcare industry, caters to a colossal customer base, serving over 53 million individuals with benefit plans within the United States alone, along with an additional five million individuals outside the country.

Meanwhile, Optum independently provides services to approximately 103 million customers within the US.

Last Friday, the American Hospital Association (AHA), which serves a broad coalition of more than 5,000 hospitals and healthcare providers, distributed a communication to its members.

The notice urged them to "evaluate the disconnection from Optum until safety verification for reconnection is independently confirmed" and highlighted the potential for "substantial disruptive consequences" arising from the cyberattack

Columbia University instructed its personnel on Friday to sever connections between all its systems and entities affiliated with UnitedHealth Group, Change Healthcare, and Optum. Additionally, access to their email domains was restricted.

Tricare, the health insurance provider for active members of the U.S. military, stated in an announcement that the cyberattack on Change Healthcare is affecting military pharmacies globally and some retail pharmacies within the country.