The U.S. government’s healthcare insurance agency has sustained a massive data breach that allows hackers to pilfer personal information of around 75,000 customers.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Management (CMS) disclosed that on October 13 they found a suspicious activity on its Direct Enrollment pathway- a portal for agents and brokers.
"CMS staff detected anomalous activity in the Federally Facilitated Exchanges or FFE’s Direct Enrollment pathway for agents and brokers… At this time, we believe that approximately 75,000 individuals’ files were accessed," as stated in a press release by CMS.
According to CMS, the system was immediately deactivated after the breach was disclosed and law enforcement also alerted. Although, till now they have not revealed much about the types of information lost in this attack.
However, it is speculated that the hackers might have compromised the HealthCare.gov system’s sign-up process, which includes the customers' names, Social Security numbers, income, health insurance status, and citizenship or legal immigration status.
“Our number one priority is the safety and security of the Americans we serve. We will continue to work around the clock to help those potentially impacted and ensure the protection of consumer information,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
“I want to make clear to the public that HealthCare.gov and the Marketplace Call Center are still available, and open enrollment will not be negatively impacted."
"We are working to identify the individuals potentially impacted as quickly as possible so that we can notify them and provide resources such as credit protection.”
