Change Healthcare hackers broke in using stolen credentials and no MFA says UHG CEO TechCrunch

pCommentppThe ransomware gang that hacked into US health tech giant Change Healthcare used a set of stolen credentials to remotely access the companys systems that werent protected by multifactor authentication MFA according to the chief executive of its parent company UnitedHealth Group UHGppUnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty provided the written testimony ahead of a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday into the February ransomware attack that caused months of disruption across the US healthcare systemppThis is the first time the health insurance giant has given an assessment of how hackers broke into Change Healthcares systems during which massive amounts of health data were exfiltrated from its systems UnitedHealth said last week that the hackers stole health data on a substantial proportion of people in AmericappChange Healthcare processes health insurance and billing claims for around half of all US residentsppAccording to Wittys testimony the criminal hackers used compromised credentials to remotely access a Change Healthcare Citrix portal Organizations like Change use Citrix software to let employees access their work computers remotely on their internal networksppWitty did not elaborate on how the credentials were stolen The Wall Street Journal first reported the hackers use of compromised credentials last weekppHowever Witty did say the portal did not have multifactor authentication which is a basic security feature that prevents the misuse of stolen passwords by requiring a second code sent to an employees trusted device such as their phone Its not known why Change did not set up multifactor authentication on this system but this will likely become a focus for investigators trying to understand potential deficiencies in the insurers systemsppOnce the threat actor gained access they moved laterally within the systems in more sophisticated ways and exfiltrated data said WittyppWitty said the hackers deployed ransomware nine days later on February 21 prompting the health giant to shut down its network to contain the breachppUnitedHealth confirmed last week that the company paid a ransom to the hackers who claimed responsibility for the cyberattack and the subsequent theft of terabytes of stolen data The hackers known as RansomHub are the second gang to lay claim to the data theft after posting a portion of the stolen data to the dark web and demanding a ransom to not sell the informationppUnitedHealth earlier this month said the ransomware attack cost it more than 870 million in the first quarter in which the company made close to 100 billion in revenueppUnitedHealth says Change hackers stole health data on substantial proportion of people in AmericappppEvery weekday and Sunday you can get the best of TechCrunchs coverageppStartups are the core of TechCrunch so get our best coverage delivered weeklyppThe latest Fintech news and analysis delivered every TuesdayppTechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insightppBy submitting your email you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice
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