The Weekly Breach Breakdown: United We Stand – UnitedHealth Group Data Breach is the Latest Healthcare Compromise

• A cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group has caused delays in administrative functions for hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and millions of patients. In a survey, the American Hospital Association (AHA) found that 60 percent of respondents lost over $1 million a day.
• The details from the UnitedHealth Group data breach align with trends highlighted by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). Healthcare continues to be the top industry targeted by criminals. There’s been a 250 percent increase in attacks against supply chains since 2020.
• Change Health has reportedly paid $22 million to a well-known ransomware group to end the attack. They are slowly bringing their systems back online, and the disruptions at local medical facilities are easing.
• If you receive a data breach notice, freeze your credit, change your password to a 12+ unique passphrase, change the password of other accounts with the same password as the breached account, use multifactor authentication and be on the lookout for phishing attempts.
• To learn about the latest data compromises, like the UnitedHealth Group data breach, consumers and businesses should visit the ITRC’s data breach tracking tool, notified.
• If you believe you are the victim of an identity crime or the UnitedHealth Group data breach, contact the ITRC. Call toll-free at 888.400.5530 or live chat on the company website, idtheftcenter.org.

United We Stand

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) Weekly Breach Breakdown for March 22, 2024. Thanks to Sentilink for their support of the podcast and the ITRC. Each week, we look at the most recent events and trends related to data security and privacy. This week, we discuss the UnitedHealth Group data breach.

UnitedHealth Group Data Breach

A recent cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group caused significant disruptions in the healthcare industry. The attack targeted Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary that processes 15 billion health-related transactions annually and touches one out of every three patient records. The digital “clearinghouse” connects doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers with insurance companies that pay for medical care and authorize medical services.

The UnitedHealth Group data breach has caused delays and snags in administrative functions for hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and millions of patients. The American Hospital Association (AHA) described the attack against Change Healthcare as the most significant and consequential cyberattack on the U.S. health system.

Who Was Impacted?

In a questionnaire sent to all U.S. hospitals, the AHA found that 74 percent of facilities responding to their survey reported a direct impact on patient care; 40 percent said patients had problems accessing healthcare because of delays in pre-approvals. Also, 94 percent of hospitals responding to the AHA about the UnitedHealth Group data breach reported being financially impacted by the disruption caused by the attack, with 60 percent saying they were losing nearly $1 million per day.

ITRC Data Breach Trends Hold True

Change Health has reportedly paid $22 million to a well-known ransomware group to end the attack. This is in keeping with two trends that the ITRC recently highlighted:

1. The Healthcare industry continues to be the number one industry targeted by cybercriminals. Healthcare has topped the list of companies with the most reported data compromises each year for the past five years.
2. There has been a dramatic increase in attacks against supply chains over the past five years – a 250 percent increase since 2020. Healthcare has a large and fragmented supply chain with companies that range in size from local doctor’s offices and billing processors to mammoth companies like UnitedHealth Group.

Those smaller organizations often have access to the same systems and databases used by large companies without the same level of cybersecurity and data protection. That makes them a prime target for identity criminals.

Change Health Systems Begin to Come Back Online

Change Health reports that they are slowly bringing their systems back online, and the disruptions at local medical facilities are easing. However, this attack has also prompted calls from healthcare, cybersecurity and public policy experts to improve cyber and data protection for healthcare providers and their patients.

What to Do if You Receive a UnitedHealth Group Data Breach Notice

• Freeze your creditto ensure no new credit accounts can be opened in your name.
• Immediately change your passwords and switch to a 12+-character passphrase.
• Change the passwords of other accounts using the same password as the breached account.
• Use multifactor authentication (MFA) with an app – SMS can be spoofed.
• Keep an eye out for phishing attempts that claim to be from the breached organization.

Contact the ITRC

If you want to know more about how to protect your business or personal information, the UnitedHealth Group data breach, or think you have been the victim of an identity crime, you can speak with an expert ITRC advisor on the phone, chat live on the web or exchange emails during our normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-5 p.m. PST). Just visit www.idtheftcenter.org to get started.

Thanks again to Sentilink for their support of the ITRC and this podcast. In two weeks, we will have the IRS on our sister podcast, the Fraudian Slip, to discuss tax scams as the tax filing deadline approaches. We will return next week with another episode of the Weekly Breach Breakdown.