The Week in Ransomware - March 1st 2024 - Healthcare under siege

Ransomware attacks on healthcare over the last few months have been relentless, with numerous ransomware operations targeting hospitals and medical services, causing disruption to patient care and access to prescription drugs in the USA. The most impactful attack of 2024 so far is the attack on UnitedHealth Group's subsidiary Change Healthcare, which has had significant consequences for the US healthcare system. This attack was later linked to the BlackCat ransomware operation, with UnitedHealth also confirming the group was behind the attack. Change Healthcare is an electronic payment exchange service used by doctors, pharmacists, and hospitals to submit billing claims in the US healthcare system. The attack has caused significant disruptions in Change Healthcare's services, significantly impacting pharmacies that cannot bill customers picking up prescription medicines. This disruption has trickled down to patients, who, in some cases, are forced to pay full price for their medications until the issue is resolved. However, some medicines can cost thousands of dollars, making it difficult for many to afford the payments. To make matters worse, the BlackCat ransomware operation, aka ALPHV, claims to have stolen 6TB of data from Change Healthcare during the attack, containing the personal information of millions of people. The attack has led the FBI, CISA, and the HHS to issue a joint advisory warning of BlackCat attacks on hospitals. "The cyberattack against Change Healthcare...