The sophisticated cyberattack has affected Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliate brands Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions, Inc. and members of other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans who sought treatment in Washington or Alaska. Even individuals who conduct business with Premera have been affected.
Premera, a leading health insurance company stores information like member or applicant’s name, date of birth, email address, address, telephone number, Social Security number, member identification numbers, bank account information, and claims information, including clinical information.
The attack on its IT systems was discovered on January 29, 2015, but the initial attack had occurred long back on May 5, 2014. The company kept the information under wraps in order to safeguard its users against aggravated attack from the hackers.
Premera is working closely with Mandiant, one of the world’s leading firms in cybersecurity to investigate the case and to remove the infection caused by the attack on the systems. The Federal Bureau of Investigation who has been notified are also investigating the case.
The attack has left the attackers with a goldmine of information. Initial investigations have revealed that no data has been removed from the system or been put to inappropriate use till now.
Premera President and CEO, Jeff Roe has issued a statement saying that the company is committed towards protection of the information of its users and as a part of the commitment, Premera will be providing two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through Experion to the affected individuals, starting March 17, 2015.
They will be contacting people only by letter and no emails or phone calls would be made asking for information. The company has warned individuals against unsolicited phone calls seeking information.
In addition Premera has also established a dedicated call center for enquiries on the matter. For users of Premera , who feel they have been affected but have not received a letter form the company by April 20, 2015 are urged to call the company at 1-800-768-5817.
