Tag Archive for: change

Higgins Welcomes System Restoration after Change Healthcare Cyberattack

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced that, per reports, Change Healthcare, a segment of UnitedHealth Group, has restored much of its electronic payment system after a 3-week system outage due to a ransomware attack. Claims processing is expected to resume today, March 15, with a full system restoration phased in the next week.

 

In February, Change HealthCare publicly disclosed that it had been the victim of the most significant cyberattack on the U.S. health care system in American history. This attack severely impacted not only the health care industry but also millions of Americans who rely on the services provided by Change HealthCare. The organization is responsible for 15 billion health care transactions annually and touches 1 in every 3 patients’ records.

 

The culprit, ALPHV/BlackCat, demanded immediate financial compensation to restore services online. Unfortunately, various Veteran Homecare facilities and Small Business health care providers across South Louisiana were impacted by the attacks, leaving many organizations unable to process payments, receive prescriptions, and fill health claims.

 

“The cyber warfare that goes on around us, sight unseen, should concern everyone,” said Congressman Higgins. “With cyberattacks becoming increasingly prevalent, we as a nation must make it a priority to focus on protecting our computer systems. Some of the most innovative ideas and products for cyber warfare originate from American startups and small businesses. We must harness their expertise to prevent, mitigate, and defend our country against cyberattacks. We cannot allow situations like Change Healthcare to impact the daily lives of hardworking Americans because our cyber developments are not up to speed and able to compete in the international marketplace.” 

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This week in the Change Healthcare attack fallout: 10 standout quotes

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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

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Ransomware Attack on Change Healthcare Wreaks Havoc on U.S. Medical Billing Systems

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One cybersecurity expert estimates some healthcare providers are losing $100 million per day because of the Change Healthcare ransomware attack.

Change Healthcare, a technology company owned by UnitedHealth that processes insurance claims and other critical hospital functions experienced a ransomware attack on February 21 that has continued to cause major disruptions to the nation’s medical payments infrastructure.

For more than a week and a half, the attack has threatened the security of patient data and is delaying many prescriptions at pharmacies and in hospitals around the country, as well as some healthcare worker paychecks, reports the Associated Press. Pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, Publix, and Good RX all have reported some disruption resulting from the attack, reports the Tennessean.

The ransomware attack against Change Healthcare is the most serious incident of its kind leveled against a healthcare organization in the U.S., according to the American Hospital Association (AHA). The company says it processes about 15 billion healthcare transactions every year and touches one in every three patient records.

One cybersecurity expert says some healthcare providers are losing more than $100 million per day due to the outage, reports CNN.

According to the AHA: “The staggering loss of revenue means that some hospitals and health systems may be unable to pay salaries for clinicians and other members of the care team, acquire necessary medicines and supplies, and pay for mission critical contract work in areas such as physical security, dietary and environmental services. In addition, replacing previously electronic processes with manual processes has often proved ineffective and is adding considerable administrative costs on providers, as well as diverting team members from other tasks.”

In response to the attack, Change Healthcare immediately isolated and disconnected the impacted systems, reports NBC News. UnitedHealth also stood up a “Temporary Funding Assistance Program” for hospitals affected by the breach, but according to the AHA, the funds “will not come close to meeting the needs of our members as they…

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Change Healthcare confirms ransomware attack, hackers claim massive data haul

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Optum’s Change Healthcare confirmed Feb. 29 that it was hacked by a ransomware gang after the group claimed to have stolen massive amounts of data.

“Change Healthcare can confirm we are experiencing a cybersecurity issue perpetrated by a cybercrime threat actor who has represented itself to us as ALPHV/Blackcat,” an Optum spokesperson emailed Becker’s on Feb. 29. “We are actively working to understand the impact to members, patients and customers.”

Many of Change Healthcare’s applications, which span revenue cycle management to prescription processing, have been down since Feb. 21, disrupting operations at hospitals, physician practices and pharmacies across the country.

ALPHV/Blackcat, aka BlackCat, claimed responsibility for the hack, posting on its dark web leak site that it stole 6 terabytes worth of Change Healthcare data involving “thousands of healthcare providers, insurance providers, pharmacies, etc,” Bleeping Computer reported Feb. 28. The allegedly stolen data includes medical records, patient Social Security numbers, and information on active military personnel (Change serves some military healthcare facilities).

But as Politico noted Feb. 28: “Ransomware groups, which demand extortion payments in exchange for restoring or not publishing stolen data, often exaggerate their exploits as a negotiating tactic.”

ALPHV/Blackcat, which has been linked to Russia, has been targeting the U.S. healthcare industry since December after the FBI disrupted its operations.

Change Healthcare said it is working with cybersecurity firms Palo Alto Network and Mandiant, a Google subsidiary, as well as law enforcement to address the cyberattack.

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