The reason healthcare providers are not getting paid is due to Blackcat
The Attack on Blackcat, A Healthcare Alliance, Announced Joint AdS/CFT Cooperative, UnitedHealth and Palo Alto Networks
Blackcat has begun to target the healthcare system according to a joint cybersecurity advisory by federal agencies. “Since mid-December 2023, of the nearly 70 leaked victims, the healthcare sector has been the most commonly victimized,” the agencies wrote.
Since Change Healthcare acts as a middleman between healthcare providers and insurance companies, the breach has hindered everyday transactions like electronic pharmacy refills and new insurance claims. According to an SEC filing, the company first identified suspicious activity on its IT systems in February.
While the company has set up a website to track the ongoing outage, reassured customers that there are “workarounds” to ensure access to patients, and recording of the conference call with cybersecurity officers, it’s not clear when the outage will be over.
Blackcat, also known as ALPHV, has claimed credit for numerous hacks over the past year, including the MGM casino breach in Las Vegas, a hack on Reddit’s systems, and many others.
The US government has even offered a combined $15 million reward for any actionable intelligence on the group’s whereabouts. The FBI tried to seize Blackcat’s server and websites last year, but the group quickly regained control.
UnitedHealth is currently working with Google-owned Mandiant and cybersecurity software vendor Palo Alto Networks, CNBC reports. The company isn’t saying if they’ll pay the ransom.
Patients are having a hard time filling prescriptions or seeking medical care due to the attack on hospitals.
Hospitals, pharmacy and other health care providers have either been unable to access the payment platform or have shut off their connection to its network to prevent the hackers from gaining further access.
UnitedHealth says that as of Monday it estimated that more than 90% of 70,000 pharmacies in the U.S. have had to change how they process electronic claims as a result of the outage.
Black Cat and U.S. Federal Workforce Employees: Resolving the Cybercriminals in the Era of Global Reorganization
It is challenging to hamper these groups long-term because of Black Cat’s ability to regroup.
Cybercriminals reassemble when their operators are located in countries that don’t prosecute their crimes.
In addition to the health care breach, Black Cat also recently claimed to have stolen classified documents and sensitive personal data about Department of Defense employees from U.S. federal contractors.
A cyberattack on US-based healthcare services firm Change Healthcare has affected patients’ personal data like social security numbers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Tuesday. The hackers are believed to be Blackcat, which carried out the MGM casino breach last year. Change Healthcare is a middleman between healthcare providers and insurance companies.