Change Healthcare cyberattack affected PHI of 100 million

 Change Healthcare cyberattack affected PHI of 100 million


The Change Healthcare cyberattack compromised the protected health information of at least 100 million people, according to The HIPAA Journal.

This represents a third of the population in the United States and makes the data breach the largest known breach at a HIPAA-regulated entity.

The previous record set by Anthem Inc. in 2015 of 78.8 million individuals, the report said.

An updated breach report has been given to the Office of Civil Rights, which is investigating HIPAA compliance by the company prior to the cyberattack, according to HIPAA Journal.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The cyberattack, later confirmed as ransomware, hit Change on February 21, affecting claims payments for numerous hospitals and physician practices.

UnitedHealth Group continues to give updates on restoration progress. 

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum bought Change for $13 billion two years ago.

THE LARGER TREND

In May, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty confirmed to Congress that he made the decision to pay $22 million in bitcoin ransom to protect the health information of patients.

 



Source link

Fallon Wolken

Related post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *