In February 2024, UnitedHealth subsidiary Change Healthcare was hacked by a ransomware group known as “BlackCat.” Chief Executive Andrew Witty confirmed that UnitedHealth paid a $22 million dollar ransom. He also stated that fixing the system would cost another $1.6 billion dollars. UnitedHealth is a $230 billion dollar company and they believed they had hired the best CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) and implemented the best cybersecurity risk management program money can buy. So, what can you do?
Meet Pete, Pedro ‘Pete’ D. Cordero, Founder/Principal of Hacking The Cyber Threat LLC. He specializes in providing cybersecurity services to executives. Before retiring from the FBI, Pete served as the FBI Assistant Section Chief for the FBI Cyber Division Cyber Criminal Section and National Security Section. He also served as Deputy Director of the FBI National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, which coordinates cyber information sharing across the intelligence community. He served a joint posting as the CIA Counterterrorism Center and the FBI Director’s Counterterrorism Briefer. Pete is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Cybersecurity is one of the largest and least understood threats we face in today’s environment. When you look to implement cybersecurity programs and personnel, would you choose an outside firm or trust the same person the FBI relied on? Before you tell me how great your system and personnel are, remember UnitedHealth and their $1.6 billion dollar mistake.
Pete is a guy who watches the watchers and lets you sleep at night. Pete lives in PCB and can be reached at pete@hackingthecyberthreat.com or at (703) 717-8909.
