Change Healthcare 2024 Breach: 100+ Million Health Records Exposed

The Change Healthcare breach demonstrated the catastrophic risks of consolidation in healthcare IT. Change Healthcare processes approximately one-third of all US healthcare claims. The attack prevented pharmacies from processing prescriptions for weeks.

The breach at UnitedHealth/Change Healthcare exposed 100 million+ records through blackcat/alphv ransomware via compromised citrix portal lacking mfa. 100 million+ Americans — approximately 1 in 3 Americans may be affected The incident highlights the ongoing challenges organizations face in protecting sensitive user data against increasingly sophisticated attack vectors. Security researchers have noted that breaches of this magnitude often result from a combination of technical vulnerabilities and organizational failures in security practices.

Current status: Largest healthcare data breach in US history; congressional investigation; $22M ransom paid. Affected users should take immediate steps to protect their accounts, including changing passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, and monitoring financial accounts for unauthorized activity. Filing a DSAR with UnitedHealth/Change Healthcare can help you understand what data was exposed and request its deletion.