A group of Nigerian hackers infiltrated the database of UnitedHealthcare, one of America’s largest health insurance companies, and stole confidential information belonging to 120 million Americans, according to recent court documents. The breach, which has been described as one of the largest in the history of the healthcare industry, involved more than six terabytes of sensitive data, including health records, names, addresses, emails, and social security numbers.
The hacking began on February 21, 2024, and was part of a series of coordinated cyberattacks against UnitedHealthcare’s systems. Court filings reveal that the stolen data was quickly disseminated globally, spreading across five continents.
“The data was quickly spread across North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. In the end, it was downloaded by 47 different parties,” read a section of the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on January 15, 2025.
While the Russia-based hacking group BlackCat is believed to have initiated the attack, most of the stolen files were reportedly downloaded by individuals in Nigeria. Other downloads also occurred in Russia and Brazil.
“It was mainly downloaded by users in Nigeria, Russia, and Brazil, with the most activity coming from Nigeria and Russia,” the lawsuit added.
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At least 60 Americans have joined a class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare, claiming their private health information was compromised due to the company’s failure to secure its database.
The lawsuit alleges that the breach has left millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft and other forms of cybercrime. Those impacted are seeking redress and demanding accountability from UnitedHealthcare for what they describe as a catastrophic lapse in data security.
The case highlights the global implications of cybercrime, with stolen data being shared on the dark web and accessed by users worldwide.
The lawsuit noted, “This experiment demonstrated that data released on the dark web will quickly spread around the world.”