UnitedHealth’s Optum unit has disclosed one of the country’s largest data breaches. This breach has revealed sensitive personal health records of more than 5.4 million people. First, a prototype conversational AI grounded on employees being able to ask complicated questions about claims to an internal chatbot. That breach happened due to this oversight. Consequently, this incident is notable as one of the top ten healthcare breaches of the year. It is extremely alarming because of its implications for data privacy and security in the healthcare sector.
Zack Whittaker, security editor at TechCrunch, was the first to surface and report the breach. Among other things, he emphasized how dangerous it was to expose this much sensitive data. The breach further highlights a continued risk in the health care industry, where sensitive records belonging to patients have become a hot commodity for hackers. Just this past month, Optum was in the news for a significant security lapse. This breach is noted just after Episource breached a different breach, which affected California and Vermont. In the weeklong breach that ended on February 6, an unidentified criminal successfully gained entry into Episource’s systems. Specifically, they exfiltrated sensitive patient and member data during that time.
In mid-February 2024, one of the largest healthcare data breaches to date was announced after Change Healthcare was hit by a successful ransomware attack. That cyberattack put the personal and health information of over 190 million Americans at risk. This incident would end up being the largest healthcare data breach in U.S. history. Change Healthcare produces and processes over $250 trillion in health transactions annually. This serves as a visceral reminder of the real-life repercussions security failures can lead to.
Together, each of these recent incidents is prompting tough questions about whether enough is being done to protect sensitive health information. The more healthcare providers turn to digital platforms to run their business, the greater the risk of a data breach seems to grow. Stakeholders throughout the industry are calling for stronger safety measures. As members of the Travon Martin Coalition, their work isn’t finished.