According to the report, as many as 11 million people could be affected by the cyberattack, which could have exposed everything from Social Security numbers and bank account information, to mailing and email addresses. Premera said hackers gained access to its systems on May 5 of last year, adding that it did not discover the breach until January 29 of this year.
The compromised information dates as far back as 2002 and affects users of Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and Vivacity and Connection Insurance Solutions. Premera offers health, life, vision, dental, disability, and other insurance, and serves 1.8 million members.
Premera said it did not find evidence of data removed from its systems, or that any customer information has been inappropriately used. Even so, it’s offering affected consumers two years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection, free of charge.
Premera did not reveal how well-secured customer information was, or how hackers accessed its systems. However, it did say the breach is currently under investigation. The FBI and cybersecurity firm Mandiant are working with Premera to find out the source of the attack, while also making some repairs to its systems.
Unfortunately, Premera is not the only health insurer to fall victim to a cyberattack. Anthem revealed in February that it, too, was the victim of a hack attack. As many as 80 million former and current Anthem customers were affected by the attack and were also offered free identity theft protection.
