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Massive Data Breach At Health Insurer Anthem Reveals Social Security Numbers And More
Forbes ^ | 2-5-15

Posted on 02/05/2015 5:38:51 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic

Today, Anthem Inc., the second largest health insurer in America revealed that hackers broke into the company’s servers and stole social security numbers and other personal information. This is a massive data breach with the potential to expose the information of nearly 80 million Anthem customers and has the potential to be the largest health care related data breach in history. The company notes that accounts associated with Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink, and DeCare were all part of the data breach.

In an email the company said:

“Anthem Blue Cross was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber attack. These attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem’s IT system and have obtained personal information from our current and former members such as their names, birthdays, medical IDs/social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data. Based on what we know now, there is no evidence that credit card or medical information (such as claims, test results or diagnostic codes) were targeted or compromised.
After discovering the data breach the company contacted law enforcement, and has stated that they are working with the FBI and cooperating in their investigation. Anthem also stated that they have retained cybersecurity firm Mandiant to evaluate their systems.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aarp; abortion; amerigroup; anthem; anthembluecross; bcbsm; caremore; cyberattack; databreach; deathpanels; decare; healthlink; identityfraud; obamacare; socialsecurity; unicare; zerocare
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To: ClearCase_guy

One of the best tv shows ever made.


21 posted on 02/05/2015 7:09:44 AM PST by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Got my email from Anthem this morning.

Thank you Anthem Blue Cross.


22 posted on 02/05/2015 7:10:04 AM PST by JMJJR ( Newspeak is the official language of Oceania)
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To: JMJJR

Same here, plus their coverage sucks.


23 posted on 02/05/2015 7:11:00 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: afraidfortherepublic

There’s no reason in the world for them to have had former members vulnerable to an online hack.


24 posted on 02/05/2015 7:12:36 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: 9YearLurker
There’s no reason in the world for them to have had former members vulnerable to an online hack.

Other than federal requirements to store that data for years, and to allow those customers access to records.
25 posted on 02/05/2015 7:46:35 AM PST by TexasGunLover ("Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists."-- President George W. Bush)
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To: central_va

Compartmentalising and need-to-know should limit Social hacks.


26 posted on 02/05/2015 7:48:56 AM PST by Lazamataz (With friends like Boehner, we don't need Democrats. -- Laz A. Mataz, 2015)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Anthem employee “Wait, I wasn’t expecting a UPS shipment. I better click on this and find out what is going on”.


27 posted on 02/05/2015 7:49:17 AM PST by AppyPappy (If you are not part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: TexasGunLover

Oh—see what I know!

(I’m one of those former members who has just been compromised.)


28 posted on 02/05/2015 7:50:30 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: afraidfortherepublic
It's nearly certain they were breached via healthcare.gov.

All providers are required to expose their internal systems to that unsecure data brokerage. And, all data must be in the same format and structure.

Hackers Paradise.

It'll be interesting if anyone comes clean on it.

29 posted on 02/05/2015 7:50:32 AM PST by Mariner (First the GOP must die. Everything else comes after that.)
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To: Mariner

Very likely. If true we will probably never find out about it.


30 posted on 02/05/2015 7:54:43 AM PST by matt04
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Got my email too - switching insurance effective 3/1 after seeing rate increase about 80% and deductibles almost double over the last year.


31 posted on 02/05/2015 7:54:58 AM PST by LibertyOh
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To: ClearCase_guy; Resolute Conservative
"BTW -- the US military is actively moving to put more of their mission critical data in the cloud. But don't worry. They're gonna be super careful. [/s] "

OK this is a subject I'm not totally ignorant on.

1. There will be NO classified data "in the cloud"

2. "the Cloud" is a bunch of different things to a bunch of different people and causes. No matter how you define it, you're both right and wrong.

The biggest cyber risk to US Security is the way Contractors and Vendors handle classified data...AND the ease by which PERSONS can be compromised.

The cure to most breaches is to go back to Executing those who provide classified data to unauthorized persons.

Execution is a great deterent.

32 posted on 02/05/2015 7:57:35 AM PST by Mariner (First the GOP must die. Everything else comes after that.)
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To: central_va

?Most of the time somebody bribes an employee for a password. Not really high tech at all.”

-this. Same with the Sony ‘hack’. If you part ways with an IT security employee on not so good terms, and you don’t change all the passwords, you have only yourself to blame. Of course Anthem has been known to cut corners on these things.. lost over 100k client records in both 2006 and 2008. then their security was deemed to be so terrible they were fined 1.7mil. Good places to cut costs - Security isn’t one of them.


33 posted on 02/05/2015 8:09:07 AM PST by HenryArmitage (it was not meant that we should voyage far.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

You should consider anything put in digital form being made public. Between criminal hacking and corrupt bureaucracies, it will be made so eventually anyway.


34 posted on 02/05/2015 8:50:02 AM PST by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes EVERYTHING)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

So,,, I’m Anthem BCBS Medicare. Do I need to go to my bank and change anything?


35 posted on 02/05/2015 9:30:35 AM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra (Don't touch that thing Don't let anybody touch that thing!I'm a Doctor and I won't touch that thing!)
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To: HenryArmitage

When I had to fire our key IT person, I waited 2 weeks before I actually fired him so that we could secure all our systems and have new passwords ready to go in minutes. The whole episode still gives me a queasy feeling. Fortunately there were no ramifications though someone did report that he made an effort to “borrow” their new password!


36 posted on 02/05/2015 10:06:55 AM PST by bjc (Show me the data!)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

These hacking crimes are why I don’t do online banking.


37 posted on 02/05/2015 10:26:23 AM PST by BAW (My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance to liberals which needs work.)
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To: Stonewall1

Unless you have a B key that is mismapped to T on your keyboard, you may want to get a new calculator.

705 x 80M = 56.4B


38 posted on 02/05/2015 10:42:01 AM PST by Go_Raiders (Freedom doesn't give you the right to take from others, no matter how innocent your program sounds.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic; lyby; LucyT; maggie; null and void; hoosiermama

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3254289/posts?page=1#1

Ping!


39 posted on 02/05/2015 11:32:27 AM PST by WildHighlander57 ((WildHighlander57, returning after lurking since 2001)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

"Nothin' to see here! Move along!"


40 posted on 02/05/2015 12:09:51 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary men)
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