A devastating cyber attack has America’s healthcare system under siege, putting patients and providers in a chokehold. The culprit? A notorious hacker group called Blackcat.
The attack struck UnitedHealth’s Change Healthcare division which processes insurance claims and payments for hospitals and clinics nationwide. Over a week later, the outage persists – blocking pharmacies from refills, stalling new patient claims, and stopping facilities from getting paid.
The disruption spans coast to coast. As middleman between insurers and healthcare providers, Change Healthcare handles a mind-boggling 1 in 3 US patient records. Each day without this key financial conduit causes mounting friction. The American Hospital Association warns it could severely impact services.
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The Blackcat Cyber Attack is Disrupting US Hospitals
Meanwhile, Blackcat continues to brag openly about the attack while deleting their posts shortly after. They claim to have stolen untold patient medical records and data from various health companies. So far it’s speculation, but the boasts still spread fear.
Blackcat has quickly earned notoriety for brazen cyber strikes on major companies from Reddit to casinos. Now the hackers are intentionally targeting healthcare – by far their most frequent recent victim.
And the damage is still unfolding. UnitedHealth tells hospitals this outage could drag on for weeks more. But with facilities bleeding millions in unpaid claims, they may not last that long without aid.
The insurer is now scrambling to set up emergency loans for impacted hospitals. Police are also on the hunt with $15 million bounties to uncover the elusive hackers. But Blackcat has slipped their grasp before.
For now, healthcare providers are essentially penned hostages to this cyber attack, unable to conduct normal business. Patients too find critical services disrupted. And the perpetrators likely won’t release their grip until they get paid a hefty ransom. So the healthcare system remains captive – with millions at stake and no end in sight.
