Numerous U.S. pharmacies have encountered challenges fulfilling patient prescriptions in the wake of cyber assaults targeting a UnitedHealth subsidiary. In a filing with the SEC, the corporation divulged specifics of the attack, which persisted for a couple of days.
Pharmacies throughout the country experienced setbacks in processing prescription orders due to a significant cyber breach impacting UnitedHealth’s operations nationwide. Change Healthcare, a subsidiary managing patient payments and orders, initially detected the issue, prompting a temporary disconnection of systems to mitigate the attack’s fallout.
Upon Change Healthcare’s notification, tens of thousands of pharmacies nationwide issued alerts regarding disruptions in prescription order processing. However, details regarding the attack’s specifics or the healthcare technology provider’s cybersecurity status remained undisclosed.
While patients continued to submit prescriptions, the cyberattack interfered with pharmacies’ ability to bill payments to insurance companies, thus impeding prescription deliveries. Change Healthcare provided additional information in a regulatory filing with the SEC, suspecting nation-state threat actors’ involvement. Authorities, including the FBI, CISA, and the Department of Health and Human Services, were reportedly notified of the incident.
Numerous pharmacies opted to issue emergency prescriptions to assist patients amidst the disruption. This incident underscores the escalating menace posed by nation-state cybercriminals and the surge in ransomware attacks afflicting U.S. healthcare networks and hospitals in recent times.