UnitedHealth Group's headquarters building is seen in Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S. in this handout picture taken in 2019. UnitedHealth Group/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT/File Photo
Credit: UnitedHealth Group via Reuters photo
A cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group Inc that paralysed the US health-care system last year, snarling billions of dollars in payments for doctors and hospitals, also exposed sensitive data from 190 million Americans.
The nation’s largest health insurer said it’s not aware of any misuse of that consumer information and that it hasn’t seen untoward exposure of any electronic medical record databases resulting from the hack.
The final numbers will be confirmed and filed with the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, the company said in an emailed statement. The “vast majority” of those affected have already been notified of the situation, the company said.
The attack in February 2024 led to a Congressional inquiry and raised questions about whether the concentration of medical data at UnitedHealth created an outsized risk for the industry.