(Reuters) -The U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services (HHS) has opened an investigation into the cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare unit that disrupted pharmacy refills and insurance claims processing.
The investigation, announced on Wednesday, is the first government probe into the Feb. 21 cyberattack that has jolted the U.S. health system as the unit processes about 50% of medical claims in the country.
“Given the unprecedented magnitude of this cyberattack and in the best interest of patients and health care providers” the HHS Office for Civil Rights is initiating an investigation into the incident, the health department said.
The Office for Civil Rights is responsible for administering and enforcing the rules for the health care sector under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that protects sensitive patient health information.
The probe will focus on identifying the extent of the possible breach, and compliance by UnitedHealth and the unit with the federal law, the HHS said.
UnitedHealth said it would cooperate with the investigation.
“Our immediate focus is to restore our systems, protect data and support those whose data may have been impacted,” it said.
The full extent of the data breach remains unknown, and UnitedHealth has said it was still investigating.
UnitedHealth has blamed the hack on the “Blackcat” gang, a notorious ransomware group that has a history of disruptive attacks.
In a message posted to, and then quickly deleted from their darknet site, the hackers said on Feb. 21 that they stole millions of sensitive records, including medical insurance and health data, from the company.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Sriraj Kalluvila and Shounak Dasgupta)