THE BLIND SPOT / EVIDENCE
Sources, by chapter
Follow a source number in a chapter to its reference below. Each reference links to the publisher and back to the passage it supports.
Chapter 1: The Camera in the Ceiling
Colonial Pipeline CEO: Ransomware Attack Started via Pilfered 'Legacy' VPN Account
Dark Reading · June 9, 2021
Reports Joseph Blount's testimony about a legacy VPN account with single-factor authentication; the source of the compromised credentials was still under investigation.
Return to source 1 in the chapterColonial Pipeline confirms it paid $4.4 million to hackers
Associated Press, via PBS News · May 19, 2021
Reports the $4.4 million ransom, the pipeline's roughly 45% share of East Coast gasoline, the shutdown, and more than 9,500 stations without fuel.
Return to source 2 in the chapter
Chapter 3: It’s About Patients
Change Healthcare breached via Citrix portal with no MFA
TechTarget · April 30, 2024
Reports Andrew Witty's account of the February 12, 2024 entry through a Citrix portal without MFA and ransomware deployed nine days later.
Return to source 3 in the chapterAHA Survey: Change Healthcare Cyberattack Significantly Disrupts Patient Care, Hospitals' Finances
American Hospital Association · March 15, 2024
Survey responses from nearly 1,000 hospitals, collected March 9-12, 2024: 74% reported direct patient-care effects and 94% a financial impact.
Return to source 4 in the chapterUnitedHealth Estimates Change Hack Costs Could Reach $1.6B
Healthcare Innovation · April 16, 2024
Reports the April 2024 estimate of $1.35-$1.6 billion in pre-tax cyberattack costs and more than $6 billion in assistance to providers.
Return to source 5 in the chapterUnitedHealth posts $6.1B profit in Q3
Becker's Payer Issues · October 15, 2024
Reports UnitedHealth's October 2024 estimate of a $2.87 billion full-year impact from the Change Healthcare cyberattack.
Return to source 6 in the chapterUnitedHealth estimates 190M people impacted by Change hack
Fierce Healthcare · January 24, 2025
Reports the January 2025 estimate of 190 million people affected by the Change Healthcare breach.
Return to source 7 in the chapterNew numbers from the Change Healthcare data breach: 193 million affected
Healthcare IT News · August 6, 2025
Reports 192.7 million affected individuals, citing UnitedHealth's July 31, 2025 letter to state regulators. This is the dated count used in the book.
Return to source 8 in the chapter
Chapter 9: Ten Minutes With the Board
Data breach at MGM Resorts expected to cost casino giant $100 million
Associated Press, via KSAT · October 6, 2023
Reports the ten-day computer shutdown, approximately $100 million in estimated earnings impact, and less than $10 million in additional one-time expenses.
Return to source 9 in the chapterAverage Cost of a Healthcare Data Breach Falls to $7.42 Million
HIPAA Journal · July 30, 2025
Reports IBM's 2025 findings: $10.22 million U.S. average breach cost, healthcare's ranking as the costliest industry, and a 279-day average healthcare breach lifecycle.
Return to source 10 in the chapter