The recent cyberattack on UnitedHealth has now been confirmed as the biggest health care data breach ever recorded, affecting more than 192 million people, over one-third of the U.S. population.
When news of the incident first broke in 2023, reports estimated around 100 million individuals had been impacted. Updated figures released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now show the scale was nearly twice as large, with 192.7 million people’s personal and medical information exposed.
The stolen data is said to include highly sensitive details such as medical records, diagnoses, test results, treatment information, and insurance identifiers. In addition, Social Security numbers, driver’s license details, billing information, payment data, and claims history were also compromised. The breadth of this information makes the breach especially serious, as it extends beyond health data into financial and personal identity details.
The attack targeted Change Healthcare, a technology subsidiary of UnitedHealth that processes payments for many major health insurance providers. According to congressional testimony earlier this year, hackers gained access to company systems through stolen employee login details. Critically, the system they broke into did not have multi-factor authentication enabled, making it easier to exploit.
The group responsible, known as BlackCat, used ransomware to disrupt claims p
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