How Ransomware Fallout Is Rippling Through the US Health Care System
March 7, 2024 – Published on InformationWeek
On Feb. 21, ALPHV/Blackcat hit payment and claims system Change Healthcare with a ransomware attack that is having widespread ramifications. The attack has left pharmacies scrambling to fill patient prescriptions and insurance providers unable to reimburse provider claims.
Change Healthcare, owned by UnitedHealth Group (UHG), took systems offline to contain the attack, NBC News reports. It has since established “multiple workarounds to ensure provider claims are addressed and people have access to the medications and care they need,” according to a UHG statement.
UHG confirmed that ALPHV/Blackcat is behind the cyberattack. UHG allegedly paid a $22 million ransom, according to Reuters. ALPHV/Blackcat’s attack on Change Healthcare marks a significant return for the group following disruption by law enforcement in December 2023.
“You can look at the Change Healthcare hit as a bit of a response from Blackcat to what the FBI … takedown was,” says Nic Finn, senior threat intelligence consultant at GuidePoint Security, a cybersecurity consulting services company.
Following the attack on Change Healthcare, the ransomware group appears to be burning down its own infrastructure. ALPHV/Blackcat administrators have been accused of keeping the $22 million ransom to themselves, cutting out their affiliates.
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