Skip to content

Carrier Management

Critical Information for P/C Carrier Executives

Highlights

  • How Modern is Modern Enough?
  • Liberty Mutual Done with Fixing, On to Building
  • P/C Industry Loss Reserves Redundant by More Than $20B: ...
  • Carrier Management
  • C-Suite
  • News
  • Research
  • Leadership
  • Markets
  • Regulation
  • Top 50
  • Members Only
  • Join
  • Login
  • Boardroom Agenda
  • CEO / Chief Executive
  • CFO / Financial
  • Underwriting
  • CTO / Technology
  • Risk
  • Brand Management & Sales
  • Investment Officers
  • Claims / Legal
  • Talent Management
AI, Geopolitical Volatility Lead to More Companies Missing Revenue Targets: Survey
Leave it to Me: Overconfident CEOs Less Likely to Delegate M&A Work
  • U.S.
  • International
  • Industry News
  • Government
  • Technology & Science
LaGuardia Controller Staffing May Have Violated Procedures on Night of Collision
Tiger Woods’ Crash is Golfer’s Fourth Car Crash and Second DUI Arrest

See all News

  • Executive Spotlight
  • Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Leadership
  • Performance
  • Growth Initiatives
  • Social Responsibility
Four Moves That Will Keep Midsize Mutuals Competitive
More Insurance M&A Deals on the Horizon?
  • Reinsurance
  • Emerging Markets
  • Global Economy
  • Personal Lines
  • Commercial Lines
  • Specialty
NY Lawmakers Urged to Have Faith in Auto Insurance Reform Numbers. But Do They?
About to Take Off? Legal Fights Emerge Over Toxic Fumes on Flights
  • Insurance Regulation
  • Securities Regulation
  • Accounting & Tax
  • Rating Agencies
Verisk, APCIA See ‘Reset’ Rather Than New Normal in Stellar ’25 Results
AM Best Analysis: P/C Industry Soared in 2025. Will It Fly as High in 2026?
‘Too Much Space,’ Says State Farm CEO on Shuttering Corporate HQ
Liberty Mutual ‘Shifting from Fixing to Building’ in 2026, CEO Says
Four Practical, Data-Backed Steps for Preventing Nuclear Verdicts®
What Berkshire’s CEO Abel Said About Insurance

See all Top 50

The Enemy Within: Insider Threats Are Hard to Detect, Harder to Predict
Investor Chicken Little and the AI Sales Channel: OpenAI Insurance Apps Trigger Uncertainty
Getting to the How and Why: AI Shows Its Work
Predicting the Insurability of Prediction Markets

See all Members Only Content

Benefits

  • News for the P/C Insurance C-Suite - Focused reporting from reliable sources and experienced financial journalists.
  • Research and Analysis Not Found Elsewhere - Exclusive content from researchers think tanks, industry experts and respected analysts.
  • High-Profile Peers - Interviews with thought leaders in the global and U.S. insurance industry.

Online Access

Complete, unrestricted access to the popular CarrierManagement.com website, which provides insurance company C-suite executives with daily news, white papers, advice, instruction and editorial on how to manage insurance companies more efficiently and more effectively.

No Multi-factor Authentication in Place When Hackers Used Stolen Login Credentials in UnitedHealth Breach

Print Email
May 1, 2024 by Zeba Siddiqui

Hackers breached UnitedHealth’s tech unit on Feb. 12 by using stolen login credentials that gave them remote access to its network, the largest U.S. health insurer will testify before a House panel this week.

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty’s testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee will follow weeks of disruption to American healthcare since the insurer’s Change Healthcare unit was hacked.

On the morning of Feb. 21, the cybercriminal gang AlphV, aka BlackCat, locked up Change Healthcare’s systems and demanded a ransom to unlock them, Witty will tell the House panel, according to a copy of his written testimony posted to the panel’s website on Monday.

“Not knowing the entry point of the attack at the time, we immediately severed connectivity with Change’s data centers to eliminate the potential for further infection,” the testimony says.

The criminals used compromised login credentials to remotely access a Change Healthcare Citrix portal that did not have multi-factor authentication, according to the testimony. That portal, offered by the private tech company Citrix Systems, allows for remote access to an organization’s desktops.

Multi-factor authentication is a widely prescribed layer of security that prevents hackers from using stolen passwords to break into systems. It’s unclear why the Change Healthcare portal did not have this security measure, and a UnitedHealth spokesperson did not respond to questions about it.

A Citrix spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. officials issued multiple warnings about security loopholes in Citrix tools late last year, some of which were being used to breach healthcare groups.

The hearing before the panel’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations will focus on the cyberattack’s impact on patients and providers.

UnitedHealth has been working with the FBI and prominent cybersecurity firms to investigate the hack. Security experts from Google, Microsoft, Cisco and Amazon worked with teams from Mandiant and Palo Alto Networks to secure Change Healthcare’s systems after the breach, according to the testimony.

Last week, Witty said the company had paid the hackers a ransom to ensure the decryption of Change Healthcare’s systems, although the size of the payment is not known.

The company has been scrambling to contain the hit to healthcare payment processing across the country. Change processes 50% of all medical claims in the United States.

As of April 26, UnitedHealth Group had provided more than $6.5 billion in accelerated payments and no-interest, no-fee loans to thousands of healthcare providers, according to Witty’s testimony.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in San Francisco; Editing by Michael Erman)

Copyright 2026 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Print Email
NewsRiskU.S.

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Viewpoint: Driving Sustainable Underwriting Performance With Data and Discipline
More Insurance M&A Deals on the Horizon?
Using Aerial Imagery in Insurance and Related AI: Emerging Regulatory Themes
Four More Injuries Tied to Hyundai Palisade SUV Rear Power Seat Recall

Our Contributors

Kate DombrowskiFrom Skill to System: The Next Chapter in Insurance Claims Negotiation
Daniel HofmeisterViewpoint: Runoff Specialists Have Evolved Into Key Strategic Partners for Insurers
Paige WatersUsing Aerial Imagery in Insurance and Related AI: Emerging Regulatory Themes
Stephen RossThe Enemy Within: Insider Threats Are Hard to Detect, Harder to Predict
Chad LangfordWhy Claims AI Build vs. Buy Decisions So Often Miss the Mark
See All Our Contributors

Free Newsletter

NewsletterSign up to receive daily news!

Research & Whitepapers

Latest

  • AI, Geopolitical Volatility Lead to More Companies Missing Revenue Targets: Survey
  • LaGuardia Controller Staffing May Have Violated Procedures on Night of Collision
  • Tiger Woods’ Crash is Golfer’s Fourth Car Crash and Second DUI Arrest
  • Hacked Hospitals, Hidden Spyware: Iran Conflict Shows Digital Fight in Warfare
  • China’s Top Private Insurer Taps AI to Unlock $174 Billion Value
  • Four Moves That Will Keep Midsize Mutuals Competitive
  • Leave it to Me: Overconfident CEOs Less Likely to Delegate M&A Work
  • Report Reveals Mixed Collision Trends as Fleets Work to Implement Safety Programs
  • C-Suite
  • News
  • Leadership
  • Markets
  • Regulation
  • Top 50
  • Members Only
  • Videos

Headlines

  • How Modern is Modern Enough?
  • Liberty Mutual Done with Fixing, On to Building
  • P/C Industry Loss Reserves Redundant by More Than $20B: ...
  • Fixing Claims Negotiation (Part 5)

Resources

  • Videos / Podcasts
  • Contributors

Popular Topics

  • Boardroom Agenda
  • Technology
  • Financial
  • News

Brand Spotlight

  • Cotality
  • Cytora
  • HazardHub
  • Indico Data
  • Majesco
  • Verisk
  • Vertafore

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Carrier Management

  • Submit Content
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Carrier Management iconCarrier Management
  • Insurance Journal iconInsurance Journal
  • Claims Journal iconClaims Journal
  • IJ Academy iconInsurance Journal Academy
  • Insurance Journal TV iconInsurance Journal TV
  • MyNewMarkets.com iconMyNewMarkets.com
© 2026 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map