By TOM MURPHY (AP Health Writer)

The Change Healthcare cyberattack that disrupted health care systems nationwide earlier this year started when hackers entered a server that lacked a basic form of security: multifactor authentication.

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty said Wednesday in a U.S. Senate hearing that his company, which owns Change Healthcare, is still trying to understand why the server did not have the additional protection.

His admission did not sit well with Senate Finance Committee members who spent more than two hours questioning the CEO about the attack and broader health care issues.

“This hack could have been stopped with cybersecurity 101,” Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden told Witty.

Multifactor authentication adds a second layer of security to password-protected accounts by having users enter an auto-generated code. It’s common on apps protecting sensitive data like bank accounts and meant to guard against hackers guessing passwords.

Hackers gained access to Change Healthcare in February and unleashed a ransomware attack that encrypted and froze large parts of the company’s system, Witty said. The attack disrupted payment and claims processing around the country, stressing doctor’s offices and health care systems by interfering with their ability to file claims and get paid.

While UnitedHealth quickly disconnected the affected systems to limit damage and paid a $22 million ransom, Witty said. The company is still recovering.

“We’ve literally built this platform back from scratch so that we can reassure people that there are not elements of the old attacked environment within the new technology,” Witty said.

Witty told senators that the company was in the process of upgrading Change’s technology, and he was “incredibly frustrated” to learn about the lack of multifactor authentication, which is a standard across UnitedHealth.

In March, the Office for Civil Rights said it would investigate whether protected health information was exposed and whether Change Healthcare followed laws protecting patient privacy. The company said earlier this month that personal information that could cover a “substantial portion of people in America” may have been taken in the attack. But company officials have said they see no signs that doctor charts or full medical histories were released after the attack.

Witty also told senators he was “deeply, deeply sorry,” and the company would not rest until the problem had been fixed.

Change Healthcare provides technology used to submit and process insurance claims — about 14 billion transactions a year. UnitedHealth bought Change Healthcare in a roughly $8 billion deal that closed in 2022.

Related Articles

UCLA cancels classes after violence erupts on campus over the war in Gaza

Columbia University threatens to expel student protesters occupying an administration building

EPA bans consumer use of a toxic chemical widely used as a paint stripper but known to cause cancer

Residents begin going through the rubble after tornadoes hammer parts of Nebraska and Iowa

Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police

By DAVID BAUDER (AP Media Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) — Even as many Americans say they learn about the 2024 election campaign from national news outlets, a disquieting poll reveals some serious trust issues.

About half of Americans, 53%, say they are extremely or very concerned that news organizations will report inaccuracies or misinformation during the election. Some 42% express worry that news outlets will use generative artificial intelligence to create stories, according to a poll from the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The poll found 47% of Americans also expressing serious concern that news outlets would report information that has not been confirmed or verified, and 44% worry that accurate information will be presented in a way that favors one side or another.

Half of Americans say they get election news always or frequently from national news outlets, a percentage that is higher among older respondents, the poll found.

“The level of engagement is good,” said Michael Bolden, CEO of the American Press Institute. “The thing that’s most concerning is that they’re not sure they can actually trust the information.”

Years of suspicion about journalists, much of it sown by politicians, is partly responsible, he said. People are also less familiar with how journalism works. The poll found about half of respondents say they have at least a moderate amount of confidence in the information they receive from either national or local news outlets when it comes to the 2024 elections, though only about 1 in 10 say they have a great deal of confidence.

“There may have been a time when people knew a journalist because one lived on their block,” Bolden said. “The way the industry has been decimated, that’s much less likely.”

Simply putting out the news often isn’t good enough anymore, he said. There’s a growing disconnect between news organizations and communities that the outlets need to address, by helping to let people know what journalists do and how people reporting news are their friends and neighbors, he said.

Outlets should lean into a convenor role, bringing people together for newsworthy events, he said.

About half of U.S. adults say they follow the news about presidential elections closely, with older adults being more engaged. About two-thirds of Americans age 60 or older say they keep a close eye on presidential election news, compared wth roughly one-third of those under age 30.

The same trend is seen with local and state election news. While the poll found that 46% of Americans age 60 or older say they follow news about local and state elections closely, only 16% of people age 18 to 29 said the same thing.

“As they transition to becoming older people, will they begin to care?” Bolden asked. “If they don’t begin to care, what will that mean for local and state communities?”

Young people, those under age 30, are about as likely to get election news from social media or friends or family as they are to get it from national or local news outlets, the poll found. Black and Latino adults are somewhat more likely to express “a great deal” of confidence in the reliability of social media as a source of election news than white Americans are.

That’s both a warning sign, since there is a lot more misinformation to be found on social media, and an opportunity for traditional outlets to make more of their work available this way, Bolden said.

Related Articles

Takeaways from the start of week 2 of testimony in Trump’s hush money trial

Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall after occupation

They staffed the Jan. 6 committee. Threats still follow them

Supreme Court ruling on Trump immunity could alter impeachment

More Republican states challenge new Title IX rules protecting LGBTQ+ students

About 6 in 10 Democrats say they get election news from national outlets at least frequently. That’s more than the 48% of Republicans or 34% of independents, according to the poll. Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to express concern about inaccurate information or misinformation in news coverage during the upcoming elections. About 6 in 10 Republicans are concerned about this, compared with about half of Democrats.

Besides inaccuracies, many also expressed serious concern about election news that focuses too much on division or controversies or concentrates on who may win or lose — the horserace aspect of political coverage — rather than issues or the character of candidates.

Most Americans say that for them to make informed decisions about the 2024 state and local elections, they want national and local news outlets to highlight candidates’ values or their different positions on key social issues. In each case, about three-quarters of U.S. adults say they would like “a lot” or “some” coverage of these topics.

The poll of 2,468 adults was conducted March 21-25, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

Forest Lake Area High School officials said Wednesday morning that the two boys injured Tuesday afternoon when they were struck by a car as they crossed U.S. Highway 61 near the high school are “receiving the best care possible” at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

“The families are in good spirits and continue to appreciate the prayers and positive thoughts from our Forest Lake Area Schools community,” Principal Jim Caldwell and Superintendent Steve Massey wrote in an email sent to families and staff.

The boys, both 15, are track athletes at Forest Lake Area High School. They were crossing U.S. 61 in the crosswalk at 202nd Street North with other members of the track team about 3:30 p.m. when they were struck by an 84-year-old Lindstrom man driving a 2001 Cadillac DeVille southbound on Highway 61, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The injured boys, both of Forest Lake, were flown to Regions Hospital, said Lt. Jill Frankfurth of the State Patrol.

School officials said they would have extra student support available on Wednesday for students who may need assistance in dealing with the situation.

“We continue to hold these students and their families in our thoughts and our hearts as they begin the process of recovery,” Caldwell and Massey wrote.

The State Patrol, which is continuing to investigate, said it expects to release the names of the boys at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The name of the driver is expected to be released at noon.

Related Articles

Lakeview Hospital is planning a new $400M Stillwater campus and wants your input

Driver, 84, struck and critically injured two Forest Lake track athletes crossing U.S. 61, State Patrol says

Man accused of 2023 Forest Lake hit-and-run death pleads not guilty

Washington County Parks gets unexpected conservation land donation from Scandia estate

Overnight closure of I-694 in Oakdale on Friday night was rescheduled due to weather