UnitedHealth says hack at tech unit impacted 190 million people

Pages from the United Healthcare website are displayed on a computer screen, Feb. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)

The cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group’s UNH.N tech unit last year affected the personal information of 190 million people, the health conglomerate said on Friday, making it the largest healthcare data breach in the U.S.

The hack at Change Healthcare affected the personal information of 100 million people, the U.S. health department had posted on its website in October.

The final number will be confirmed and filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' office for civil rights at a later date, the company said in an emailed statement.

The cyberattack disclosed in February at Change Healthcare was perpetrated by hackers who identified themselves as the “Blackcat” ransomware group, impacting doctors and medical practices across the U.S. healthcare system.

“Change Healthcare is not aware of any misuse of individuals' information as a result of this incident and has not seen electronic medical record databases appear in the data during the analysis,” a spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Muralikumar Anantharaman)