Piles of Linchpins: Supply Chain Lessons from the UnitedHealth Group Ransomware Attack

In cybersecurity we are often asked to find and fix the gaps in our organizations defenses- uncovering and then fortifying the digital linchpins of our systems. What do you do when you find there isn’t one linchpin but a pile, and the resilient machine you thought you had built is more like a shaking house of cards? The scourge of ransomware attacks on healthcare have continued to provide us with a steady stream of “lessons learned,” but is anyone showing up to class anymore? The United Healthcare Change ransomware attack impacted patients and hospitals in profound and terrifying ways in great part to the widespread inter-dependency and consolidation of healthcare’s digital supply chain. Attacks on third parties can now impact the timely treatment of a stroke or heart attack patient in a hospital miles away from infection. This session will look at key business continuity and resilience takeaways from the UnitedHealth Group attack and how these lessons can be applied toward not just health care, but other industry sectors as well.