Cyberattack Disrupts Pharmacies Nationwide
March 4, 2024
Change Healthcare has shut down some of its systems following a cyberattack, according to The Register. Pharmacists nationwide use the company to check patient eligibility and process prescriptions according to the terms of their insurance. It is owned by UnitedHealth, and handles 15 billion transactions annually.
Pharmacies that rely on its services, including CVS, couldn’t fill prescriptions using insurance because of the disruption. Many customers had to pay cash or go without.
The Register reports that the issue surfaced on Feb. 21, when the company said it was “experiencing enterprise-wide connectivity issues.” Later that day it confirmed that the problem was a cybersecurity-related network interruption. “At this time, we believe the issue is specific to Change Healthcare and all other systems across UnitedHealth Group are operational,” it said.
On Feb 22 UnitedHealth said that a “suspected nation-state associated cyber security threat actor” was responsible for the attack. It said certain networks and transactional services may not be accessible for a duration and extent that couldn’t yet be estimated.
Later reports linked the attack to the Russia-based BlackCat ransomware gang. UnitedHealth said it was retaining security experts, working with law enforcement and had notified customers, clients and the appropriate government agencies.
The company believes the network interruption is specific to Change Healthcare systems, and “all other systems across the company are operational.”
CVS said the network interruption was impacting its operations, but there was no indication that its own systems had been compromised. Scheurer Health of Michigan couldn’t process prescriptions at any of its pharmacy locations on the day of the breach. The Register asked the F BI for a comment, but it declined.
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