Cyberattack Fallout Continues: Change Healthcare Systems Down for Seventh Day
In a relentless cyberattack saga, Change Healthcare’s systems remain paralyzed for the seventh consecutive day. Last week, a suspected nation-state-associated threat actor breached part of Change Healthcare’s information technology network, prompting UnitedHealth Group, the parent company, to take immediate action by isolating and disconnecting the affected systems upon detection.
Change Healthcare, known for its tools in payment and revenue cycle management, has faced severe disruptions in operations across pharmacies and health systems nationwide. Despite the setback, UnitedHealth reassured that over 90% of the nation’s pharmacies have implemented electronic workarounds to navigate the system outage. The remaining pharmacies have resorted to offline processing systems to minimize the impact.
UnitedHealth, the largest healthcare company in the U.S., disclosed that provider cash flows have not yet been affected, as payments are typically issued one to two weeks after processing. The company owns Optum, a healthcare provider servicing more than 100 million patients in the U.S., and Change Healthcare merged with Optum in 2022.
Change Healthcare expressed a “high level” of confidence that Optum, UnitedHealthcare, and UnitedHealth Group’s systems were unaffected by the cyberattack. The entities are collaborating with external partners such as Palo Alto Networks and Google Cloud’s Mandiant to assess the breach.
The cyberattack on Change Healthcare comes on the heels of a record-setting year for health-related cybercrime in 2023, with 725 large healthcare security breaches reported. Health data’s attractiveness to malicious actors lies in its easy monetization on the dark web for activities like identity theft and healthcare fraud.
John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association, highlighted the various cyber threats impacting the healthcare sector, including data theft and ransomware attacks. The immediate harm caused by high-impact ransomware attacks can jeopardize patients’ safety by disrupting essential medical equipment and services.
While the nature of the attack on Change Healthcare has not been disclosed, Riggi emphasized that this is not just an attack on a single entity but an assault on the entire healthcare sector. He urged senior healthcare leaders to allocate resources to cybersecurity, fostering a culture where everyone plays a role in ensuring the organization’s digital safety.
The fallout from Change Healthcare’s breach has reverberated across the U.S. healthcare system. CVS Health reported disruptions in some business operations, affecting the processing of insurance claims. Walgreens, however, assured that the “vast majority” of its prescriptions and pharmacy operations remain unaffected.
As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, experts stress the importance of proactive measures, including regular software updates, multi factor authentication, and strong password practices, to safeguard personal data. The ongoing cyber threats underscore the need for a collective effort to ensure the security and integrity of healthcare systems nationwide.