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Change Healthcare Finally Admits It Paid Ransomware Hackers


Andy Greenberg reports via Wired: More than two months after the start of a ransomware debacle whose impact ranks among the worst in the history of cybersecurity, the medical firm Change Healthcare finally confirmed what cybercriminals, security researchers, and Bitcoin's blockchain had already mad...

Andy Greenberg reports via Wired: More than two months after the start of a ransomware debacle whose impact ranks among the worst in the history of cybersecurity, the medical firm Change Healthcare finally confirmed what cybercriminals, security researchers, and Bitcoin's blockchain had already made all too clear: that it did indeed pay a ransom to the hackers who targeted the company in February. Cybersecurity and cryptocurrency researchers told WIRED last month that Change Healthcare appeared to have paid that ransom on March 1, pointing to a transaction of 350 bitcoins or roughly $22 million sent into a crypto wallet associated with the AlphV hackers. Change Healthcare's confirmation of that extortion payment puts new weight behind the cybersecurity industry's fears that the attack -- and the profit AlphV extracted from it -- will lead ransomware gangs to further target health care companies.

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