11 Million Compromised in Premera Blue Cross Cyberattack - East Idaho News
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11 Million Compromised in Premera Blue Cross Cyberattack

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031715 PremeraBlueCrossLogo?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1426623676831Premera Blue Cross(NEW YORK) — The FBI is investigating a data breach involving health insurance company Premera Blue Cross, potentially exposing the information of up to 11 million customers.

The company said in a press release that it had discovered the intrusion on Jan. 29 and that it later determined the initial attack had happened in May 2014. The company has since determined that “attackers may have gained unauthorized access to members’ information, which could include members’ name, date of birth, Social Security number, mailing address, email address, telephone number, member identification number, bank account information, and claims information, including clinical information.

Premera immediately notified the FBI and enlisted a leading cybersecurity firm, Mandiant, to help remove “infection” created by the attack, the statement added.

The FBI applauded Premera for “quickly notifying” the U.S. government, saying the company’s response “is a model for other companies facing cyber intrusions, as rapid notification allows the FBI to quickly deploy our cyber experts to preserve evidence and work with a company’s incident responders to help recover their networks.”

“Cybercrime remains a significant threat and the FBI will continue to devote substantial resources and efforts to bringing cyber criminals to justice,” FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell said in a statement.

The data does not appear to have been removed from Premera’s systems, the company says. There is also “no evidence to date that such data has been used inappropriately.”

Still, the company plans to mail letters to approximately 11 million affected users and provide them with two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. The company also set up a website for its impacted customers.

Premera is associated with Blue Cross Blue Shield. According to the company, the intrusion affected Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliate brands Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions.


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