The US State Department has once again offered a reward of $10 million for any information that can help identify members of the notorious BlackCat hacker group. Known for their expertise in cyber attacks, the group has been responsible for disrupting computer systems of critical infrastructure facilities both in the United States and globally.
In a recent incident at the end of February, BlackCat carried out a large-scale attack on Change Healthcare, a unit within the United Group Technological. This cyber attack caused disruptions in the processing of insurance payments amounting to over $14 billion, leaving patients and healthcare providers without payment for covered services.
The impact of the cyber attack on CHANGE HealthCare’s systems was particularly severe for public health centers catering to more than 30 million underprivileged and marginalized patients.
Reports suggest that Unitedhealth Group paid a ransom of $22 million to the hackers to regain control of their systems. However, it remains unclear whether the BlackCat group followed through on their end of the deal. Shortly after the attack, the hackers circulated a fabricated press release claiming that their operations had been shut down by law enforcement, in an attempt to deceive the public and create a false sense of security.