Premera Blue Cross data breach affects millions of Washingtonians
Posted: Mar 17, 2015 1:28 PM PDT
Updated: Mar 17, 2015 3:24 PM PDT
by Cory Howard, Executive Producer Interactive, KHQ.comCONNECT
The breach affected Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliated companies, Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions, Inc. It impacts millions of individuals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
SPOKANE, Wash. – On Tuesday, Premera Blue Cross announced it has been the target of a major data breach that affects millions of Washington, Oregon and Alaskan residents. The breach was discovered on January 29, 2015 and Premera has determined it was the result of a May 5, 2014 cyberattack.
The breach affects Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliated companies, Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions, Inc. Based on the companies impacted, individuals in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska are affected by the breach.
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office said in a press release that it is unclear what information was taken, but it may have included Social Security numbers, dates of birth, mailing and email addresses, telephone numbers, member identification numbers, bank account information and claims information (which includes medical information).
At this time, the FBI is working with Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm, to find out exactly what was taken in the attack and who was behind it.
The company is offering two years of credit monitoring to all customers, ID theft restoration services and ID insurance through Experian. Customers can visit www.Premeraupdate.com to sign up for the services.
For more information on how to protect yourself from identity theft and how to recover, visit www.atg.wa.gov/identity-theftprivacy.