Change Healthcare cyberattack was due to a lack of multifactor authentication, UnitedHealth CEO says

Andrew Witty , Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealth Group, testifies at a Senate Finance Committee hearing examining cyber attacks on health care, and the Change Healthcare cyber attack, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. that disrupted health care systems nationwide earlier this year started when hackers entered a server that lacked a basic form of security: multifactor authentication., is still trying to understand why the server did not have the additional protection.

Hackers gained access to Change Healthcare in February and unleashed a ransomware attack that encrypted and froze large parts of the company’s system, Witty said. The attack disrupted payment and claims processing around the country, stressing doctor’s offices and health care systems by interfering with their ability to file claims and get paid.

“We’ve literally built this platform back from scratch so that we can reassure people that there are not elements of the old attacked environment within the new technology," Witty said. In March, the Office for Civil Rights said it would investigate whether protected health information was exposed and whether Change Healthcare followed laws protecting patient privacy. The company said earlier this month that personal information that could cover a “substantial portion of people in America” may have been taken in the attack. But company officials have said they see no signs that doctor charts or full medical histories were released after the attack.

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