Change Healthcare ALPHV: The Ransomware That Broke US Healthcare
One ALPHV/BlackCat intrusion in February 2024 froze claims and pharmacy payments across US healthcare for weeks — the single most consequential ransomware attack of the year. This account covers the nine-day dwell time, the $22 million ransom payment and the exit-scam double-cross that brought RansomHub back for seconds, the eventual disclosure of hundreds of millions of records, and why one processor's central position converted a single encryptor into a national healthcare liquidity crisis.