One-Third of Americans’ Data May Have Been Compromised in UnitedHealth Hack
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
The February ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, may have exposed a third of Americans’ data, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty disclosed in testimony to Congress on May 1.
During the tense Congressional hearing , Witty faced questions regarding the Group’s handling of the breach and the disruption inflicted on the US healthcare system. The breach paralyzed the healthcare system nationwide , affecting healthcare providers, patients, and the processing of medical claims.
The Change Healthcare breach left lawmakers clamoring for information, as the company handles approximately 15 billion transactions annually and manages medical claims for around 50% of the US population.
The Congressional committee consisting of the Senate Finance Committee and a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was convened after UnitedHealth declined to appear before the House health subcommittee in April, according to the New York Times .
In the hearing, lawmakers questioned whether the failure of UnitedHealth’s existing security system had led to the breach. It also questioned its adherence to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and whether these factors led to the exposure of the personal information of millions of Americans.
When pressed by lawmakers to give a definite answer regarding the stolen data, Witty said, “maybe a third [of Americans] or somewhere of that level” had their healthcare and personally identifiable information (PII) compromised. But, he hesitated to provide a more conclusive response as the investigation into the breach is ongoing.
In a written statement presented to the House subcommittee before the May 1 Senate hearing, Witty expressed that “it is likely to take several months” for the company to analyze the “full scope of impacted patient, provider, and payer information” compromised. He indicated that so far, there’s no evidence that any medical histories had been leaked.
The hearing also cited a December 2023 joint warning issued by the FBI and U.S. cyber and health officials regarding potential attacks on the US healthcare system by groups like AlphV or BlackCat. The warning also recommended mitigation measures, including enabling a multifactor authentication system.
When questioned whether the company’s failure to implement robust security measures had led to the hack, Witty acknowledged the absence of a strong security system. He said that hackers had used stolen credentials to remotely access Change Healthcare’s server, which, despite the joint warning, did not have a multi-factor authentication system in place.
During the hearing, Witty reassured the committee that as of the day of the hearing, all UHG systems have multi-factor authentication enabled. He also said that the company is working with regulators to investigate the breach and will soon notify the impacted customers and individuals.
The Apple-Only Arc Browser Finally Arrives on Windows
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
Arc has been popular amongst Apple users since its first release in April 2022, and nearly 2 years later, it finally launched its Windows browser .
Designed initially for Mac and iOS, the popular browser from The Browser Company has had its Windows version in beta since December 2023 .
The impetus for the company behind Arc stemmed from strong demand and the opportunity to tap into the Chrome and Edge user market. This led the company to design a browser that would transform how browsers have been traditionally utilized for the past several years.
“Arc really is just calming and keeps you organized,” Hursh Agrawal, co-founder of The Browser Company, said in an interview with The Verge .
Since their launch, Chrome and Edge users have been accustomed to having their tabs visible up on the top, but Arc promises to be different, providing a more clutter-free experience for users. “It helps you handle your tasks during the day better,” Hursh says.
With a unique interface layout and features like a collapsible sidebar with vertical tabs and bookmarks. There’s also a split view that allows two tabs in a single window, picture-in-picture, and more features that help streamline organization within a browser.
The hope is that Arc manages to emulate the success of Chrome , which witnessed a migration of users from Internet Explorer and Firefox over a decade ago.
“I saw the transition at Google when people went from everybody using Internet Explorer and Firefox to suddenly people using Chrome,” Darin Fisher, software engineer at The Browser Company, said in an interview with The Verge.
The creators not only believe that Arc will fill a gap current popular browsers have, but will also become “the operating system for the internet.”
On top of this, Arc for Windows has been built using Apple’s Swift development language and is open-source. In doing this, The Browser Company also hopes that developers will more easily be able to build Windows-based applications using Swift, possibly creating an easier crossover between the two rival operating systems.
Despite its impressive feature lineup, the browser still needs to upend the strong user market of Chrome. Since its April 30 launch, Arc has been introducing new features every Thursday and resolving bugs and other issues based on user feedback .
“The experience [of Arc on Windows] is good, but it’s not there yet, and we’re going to ship every week to get it to a place where it’s unbelievable,” said Agrawal to The Verge.
Currently, the software is only available to download for Windows 11, with a Windows 10 version slated for later release.
