US Health Dept Says UnitedHealth Hack Impacted 192.7 Million Consumers' Data

Core Insights - The data breach at UnitedHealth Group's tech unit, Change Healthcare, affected approximately 192.7 million individuals, making it the largest data breach in the U.S. healthcare industry to date [1][3][4] Group 1: Data Breach Details - The initial estimate of individuals impacted was 190 million, which was later revised to 192.7 million [2] - The breach was caused by the "Blackcat" ransomware group, leading to significant disruptions in claims processing across the nation [3] - Vulnerable information included health insurance member IDs, patient diagnoses, treatment information, social security numbers, and billing codes [4] Group 2: Financial Impact - Following the breach, Change Healthcare had to process $14 billion in backlogged healthcare claims after a month of service restoration efforts [4] - The cyberattack was noted to potentially reduce UnitedHealth Group's profit by $1.6 billion in 2024 [6] Group 3: Security Vulnerabilities - The hackers accessed the system through a Citrix portal that lacked multi-factor authentication, allowing them to move laterally within the systems [5][6] - The breach was disclosed in February, with the attack occurring on February 12, when compromised credentials were used for remote access [5]