Item 1.05. Material Cybersecurity Incidents.
On February 21, 2024, UnitedHealth Group (the “Company”) identified a suspected nation-state associated cyber security threat actor had gained access to some of the Change Healthcare information technology systems¹,²,³. Immediately upon detection of this outside threat, the Company proactively isolated the impacted systems from other connecting systems in the interest of protecting our partners and patients, to contain, assess and remediate the incident⁴.
The Company is working diligently to restore those systems and resume normal operations as soon as possible, but cannot estimate the duration or extent of the disruption at this time. The Company has retained leading security experts, is working with law enforcement and notified customers, clients and certain government agencies.⁵ At this time, the Company believes the network interruption is specific to Change Healthcare systems, and all other systems across the Company are operational.
During the disruption, certain networks and transactional services may not be accessible.⁶ The Company is providing updates on the incident at https://status.changehealthcare.com/incidents/hqpjz25fn3n7. Please access that site for further information.
As of the date of this report, the Company has not determined the incident is reasonably likely to materially impact the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.⁷,⁸
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking statements” which are intended to take advantage of the “safe harbor” provisions of the federal securities law. The words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “plan,” “project,” “should” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions; however, by their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict or quantify. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements can be found in the “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” sections included in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.