UnitedHealth confirms 190 million Americans affected by Change Healthcare data breach

UnitedHealth confirms 190M impacted by Change Healthcare breach, with data stolen by ALPHV gang.

: UnitedHealth confirmed 190 million Americans were affected by the Change Healthcare data breach in February 2024, the largest medical data breach in the U.S. Hackers stole extensive health and insurance data, publishing some online and prompting UnitedHealth to pay ransoms. No misuse of individual information was confirmed, according to UnitedHealth's analysis. The ALPHV ransomware gang executed the breach using stolen credentials lacking multi-factor authentication.

UnitedHealth has revealed that 190 million Americans were impacted by a ransomware attack on its Change Healthcare unit in February 2024, which marks the largest medical data breach in U.S. history. The health insurance giant confirmed this updated figure, nearly double the initial estimates, after conducting an analysis and reporting it to TechCrunch.

The cyberattack resulted in the theft of extensive personal and health-related data, such as names, contact details, government documents, and sensitive medical information. Although Change Healthcare paid ransoms to the attackers, who are believed to be the ALPHV ransomware gang, UnitedHealth assures that there has been no observed misuse of individuals' data.

This breach severely disrupted the U.S. healthcare system for months, affecting one of the nation's largest handlers of medical data and claims. UnitedHealth's CEO, Andrew Witty, testified that the attack exploited a weak point involving a stolen credential, which lacked multi-factor authentication.

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