February’s crippling ransomware assault towards Change Healthcare, which noticed prescription orders delayed throughout the United States, continues to have critical penalties.
The cybercriminal group RansomHub printed a portion of what it claims to be the various tens of millions of affected person information it stole within the assault on the darkish net, together with medical data, insurance coverage information, and billing particulars.
RansomHub claims 4TB of stolen information are up on the market to the very best bidder until Change Healthcare pays a ransom. The haul is alleged to additionally comprise contracts and authorized agreements between Change Healthcare and its enterprise companions.
What makes the scenario fairly extra advanced is that RansomHub is just not the primary cybercriminal group to assert accountability for the extremely disruptive Change Healthcare hack.
The ransomware assault was initially attributed to the BlackCat ransomware gang (also referred to as ALPHV). Indeed, it was reported that BlackCat/ALPHV had acquired a cryptocurrency cost equal to US $22 million in early March in what was extensively assumed to be a ransom cost.
If that is correct, why would a unique cybercrime gang now look like demanding a ransom cost from Change Healthcare? Is this a separate information breach, or two totally different teams making an attempt to extort cash for a similar theft?
What is feasible is that the safety breach is being linked to 2 totally different teams as a result of associates and members of a ransomware gang have fallen out with one another and squabbled about how finest to divide the proceeds.
For its half, RansomHub informed Wired that it was not affiliated with the BlackCat/ALPHV group and declined to reveal the ransom quantity demanded from Change Healthcare.
Whatever the fact is of who stole what, and the way a lot ransom they could have demanded, the sale of the exfiltrated information raises the stakes dramatically for each sufferers and the trade as a complete.
Patients now discover themselves at elevated threat of id theft and monetary fraud, in addition to doubtlessly discrimination primarily based upon their leaked medical data. Meanwhile, insurers concern they could see a big surge in fraudulent claims which – in flip – may drive up prices for customers.
None of which is nice information, and raises an fascinating query – how will Change Healthcare reply to the most recent ransom demand?
Change Healthcare’s guardian firm, UnitedWell being Group, says that it continues to “make progress in mitigating the affect” of February’s cyber assault.