Hackers behind Change Healthcare breach get $22M

Hackers behind Change Healthcare breach get $22M unknown

The cybercriminal organization responsible for hacking UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare has received a multimillion dollar payment in bitcoins, according to Reuters.

UnitedHealth Group said Change was hit by BlackCat ransomware group Feb. 21, forcing its systems offline. The claims processing and revenue cycle management platform is still working to restore functionality, and asked health systems to use alternative methods for claims processing while its systems are down. BlackCat claimed it stole 6 terabytes of data from Change, including medical records and Social Security numbers.

BlackCat received $22 million in bitcoins, according to a March 3 forum post. UnitedHealth Group has not addressed whether the company paid the ransom, but told Reuters it was "focused on the investigation and recovery."

BlackCat shut down its servers and ransomware sites, BleepingComputer reported March 4, after claiming the ransom was paid. BlackCat previously shut down its data leak blog March 1.