Health Insurer Premera Blue Cross Latest Hack Victim, 11M Consumers Affected

PBCBS_AK_k_blue_licJust a month after tens of millions of consumers’ personal information was breached in the hack of health insurance firm Anthem, another U.S.-based insurance provider says it was the victim of a cyber attack affecting as many as 11 million customers.

King 5 News reports that Pacific Northwest-based health insurer Premera Blue Cross is working with the FBI and cybersecurity firms to investigate a breach discovered in late January.

According to the company, the breach was found nearly eight months after the initial attack, which occurred in May 2014.

Premera says that hackers may have gained access to names, birth dates, social security numbers and bank account information of consumers going as far back as 2002.

The breach is believed to affect several Premera brands including Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliate brands Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions, Inc.

So far, there is no evidence that any of the compromised information has been used illegally, King 5 reports.

Premera will provide two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to consumers who were affected by the breach. The company has set up a dedicated website with more information for customers, www.premeraupdate.com.

Premera victim of cyber attack; 11 million customers exposed [King 5 News]

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