Biggest health information hack in US history impacts 100 million people

A health care cyberattack reported by WRAL News in March has turned into the biggest health information hack in U.S. history.

2024-11-01

Private health data belonging to 100 million people was compromised in the Change Healthcare hack. 5 On Your Side obtained one of the letters sent to the people impacted.

The letter states that sensitive information, including medical records, test results, images, billing and payment data, social security numbers and more may have been compromised.

Change Healthcare is owned by UnitedHealthcare and processes patient bills and payments for healthcare companies.

According to Change, a cybercriminal was able to access their computer system and take copies of data between Feb. 17, 2024, and Feb. 20, 2024.

Change Healthcare is offering two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection for everyone affected by the breach.

The Health and Human Services (HSS) Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the cyberattack, focused on whether a breach was a violation of HIPAA rules.

HHS also created this FAQ page about the hack.