Premera Blue Cross hacked; 11 million at risk
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 03/19/2015 05:18 AM
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Another insurance carrier has been hacked and as many as 11 million customers have had their personal info stolen.
Premera Blue Cross said on Tuesday that customers' personal information, including names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, and claims information was compromised in the May 2014 intrusion. Other information exposed included bank account information, email addresses and telephone numbers, Premera said.
The breach was discovered January 29. However, the customer information dates back to 2002. The company is working with the FBI and has as yet not determined whether any information was removed from the servers or "used inappropriately."
Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), health insurance companies are not required to encrypt the data stored on their servers. That is one of the reasons insurance companies are such lucrative hacking targets for identity theft hackers.
The security breach affected Premera Blue Cross (which operates primarily in the Northwest), Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and affiliated brands Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions.
Source: CNET
Premera Blue Cross said on Tuesday that customers' personal information, including names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, and claims information was compromised in the May 2014 intrusion. Other information exposed included bank account information, email addresses and telephone numbers, Premera said. The breach was discovered January 29. However, the customer information dates back to 2002. The company is working with the FBI and has as yet not determined whether any information was removed from the servers or "used inappropriately."
Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), health insurance companies are not required to encrypt the data stored on their servers. That is one of the reasons insurance companies are such lucrative hacking targets for identity theft hackers.
The security breach affected Premera Blue Cross (which operates primarily in the Northwest), Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and affiliated brands Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions.
Source: CNET
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