Episource Is Notifying Millions Of People That Their Health Data Was Stolen

Medical billing elephantine Episource is notifying millions of group crossed nan United States that their individual and wellness accusation was stolen successful a cyberattack earlier this year.

The breach affects much than 5.4 cardinal people, according to a listing pinch nan U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, making it 1 of nan largest healthcare breaches of nan twelvemonth truthful far. 

Episource, owned by wellness security elephantine UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Optum, provides billing accommodation to nan doctors, hospitals, and different organizations that activity successful nan healthcare industry. As such, nan institution handles ample amounts of patients’ individual and aesculapian information to process claims done their wellness insurance.

In notices revenge successful California and Vermont connected Friday, Episource said a criminal was capable to “see and return copies” of diligent and personnel information from its systems during nan weeklong breach ending February 6.

The stolen accusation includes individual information, specified arsenic names, postal and email addresses, and telephone numbers, arsenic good arsenic protected wellness data, including aesculapian grounds numbers, and information relating to doctors, diagnoses, medications, trial results, imaging, care, and different treatment. The stolen information besides contains wellness security information, for illustration wellness plans, policies, and personnel numbers.

Episource did not picture nan quality of nan incident, but Sharp Healthcare, 1 of nan companies that useful pinch Episource and was affected by nan cyberattack, told its customers that the Episource hack was caused by ransomware. 

This is nan latest cybersecurity incident to deed UnitedHealth successful caller years. 

Change Healthcare, 1 of nan largest companies successful nan U.S. healthcare manufacture that processes billions of wellness transactions each year, was hacked by a ransomware pack successful February 2024, starring to nan theft of much than 190 cardinal Americans’ individual and wellness information. The cyberattack was nan largest healthcare information breach successful U.S. history. 

Several months later, UnitedHealth’s Optum portion left an soul chatbot utilized by labor to inquire astir claims exposed to nan internet.