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The State Department has announced a $10 million reward for details leading to the identification or location of individuals behind the Blackcat ransomware group’s cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group in February.
The department highlighted the group’s disruptive attacks, stating, “The ALPHV BlackCat ransomware-as-a-service group compromised computer networks of critical infrastructure sectors in the United States and worldwide, deploying ransomware on the targeted systems, disabling security features within the victim’s network, stealing sensitive confidential information, demanding payment to restore access, and threatening to publicize the stolen data if victims do not pay a ransom.”
The Blackcat group, operational since 2021, has been directly implicated in malicious cyber activities, with the State Department noting its capabilities in developing and deploying ransomware tools. Specifically, the department mentioned that the group’s members have “developed and maintained” ransomware and worked on “recruiting affiliates to deploy it.”
The cyberattack’s impact was felt by Change Healthcare, a key subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, which suffered disruptions in its payment systems due to the ransomware incident on February 21. The aftermath saw many patients facing unexpected out-of-pocket expenses for essential healthcare services. Although UnitedHealth Group has made progress in restoring its systems, the company has said that it is still “testing software it must restore from the attack but has no date yet for finishing the recovery.”
This all came after Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) raised serious concerns about the situation and demanded that the company respond to a set of questions he had written in a letter. Raskin said he is worried that UnitedHealth Group is “restricting the ability of federal agencies to provide applicable assistance to Change Healthcare.”
