WASHINGTON – Oregon Senator Ron Wyden shared his response Wednesday to the Change Healthcare cyber hack, that disrupted the American Healthcare System six weeks ago.
The United States Senate Committee on Finance met to discuss the implications of the cyberattack, as well as what is expected moving forward.
Senator Wyden said Change Healthcare and its parent company United Health Group failed to protect the nearly 152 million Americans that it serves. Senator Wyden pressed United Health Group CEO Andrew Witty and called his corporation a “healthcare leviathan”.
The hack exposed sensitive patient information, though it’s unclear how many people are affected. Things like cancer diagnoses, abortion procedures, and medical bills with personally identifiable information are potentially vulnerable.
Senator Wyden likened the severity of the incident to the 2015 government data breach on the Office of Personal Management.
“The failures of CEOs like Mr. Witty, who months in can’t figure out how many people have had their data stolen, validate the FBIs warning,” Wyden said.
In a testament following Senator Wyden’s comments, CEO Andrew Witty apologized to the public and assured cyber experts are investigating the incident. He said the portal, which cyber criminalized deployed ransomware, was not protected with multi-factor authentication.
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