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Headlines

A week in, and the top story in cybersecurity remains the UnitedHealth insurance attack. US healthcare providers are still facing significant financial strain due to a ransomware attack on UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare unit — a crucial component for processing insurance claims. It seems small healthcare providers are particularly impacted. Problems caused by the attack include major delays in payments, with thousands of dollars in overdue claims mounting up across the country. The outage makes some insurance transactions and electronic pharmacy refills impossible, forcing many to revert to paper transactions.

Larger hospitals can rely on alternative technologies and cash reserves, allowing them to withstand the prolonged process of getting things back on their feet. Recovery from these kinds of ransomware attacks can take up to 30 days or more for core services, and less critical functions can take longer than that. Despite UnitedHealth's efforts to restore claims submissions to pre-disruption levels and suggestions to use alternative clearinghouses, the healthcare sector faces significant challenges in managing cash flow and payments. Who is responsible? Reports suggest a criminal gang known as Blackcat or ALPHV could be to blame.

Citing national security concerns, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order to stop the transfer of important American personal data to countries like China and Russia. This order targets sending genomic data to these countries, and it limits the bulk transfer of Americans' geolocation, biometric, health, and financial information to a list of countries of concern — including Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

The move is said to prevent companies, particularly Chinese genomic firms like BGI, from processing sensitive American data. It’s yet another part of a broader effort by the US government to prevent personal data from being accessed by foreign nations amid ongoing trade and technology disputes. The order also closes loopholes that currently allow data brokers to sell sensitive information legally. Certain types of data and transactions are exempted, but these will be subject to security measures like encryption and anonymization. The Department of Justice is consulting with the industry before implementing new rules.

Italian authorities have confiscated approximately €250 million ($271 million) from Telecom Italia (TIM) — alleging their fraudulent, unauthorized activations of services for customers. The total amount seized, including funds from six content service providers collaborating with TIM, reaches €322 million, covering alleged offenses from 2017 to 2020. TIM's share price dropped by up to 2% in the fallout of the confiscation.

The company expressed surprise over the seizures, saying it had already refunded customers for irregular activations between 2019 and 2020 and blocked affected value-added services. This coincides with a significant restructuring in the company, including a potential sale of its fixed landline network to KKR.

Interesting Read

Rosalyn Page, writing for CSO, looks at the overlap between governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) and cybersecurity — calling for greater alignment between the two.

With the SEC imposing new rules on cybersecurity oversight, GRC frameworks have never been more intertwined with this bundle of issues and concerns. The move towards a unified GRC and cybersecurity approach mitigates breaches and supports strategic business decisions.

Employment Tip: Hands-On Experience

How much does your CV prioritize actual, hands-on experience? Internships, limited projects, and part-time roles that show you can apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations are far more impressive than you might realize.

For the latest openings in cybersecurity careers, check CybersecurityHQ.

Stay Safe, Stay Secure.

The CybersecurityHQ Team