Shaun Nichols reports: A year or so before American health insurer Anthem admitted it had been ruthlessly ransacked by hackers, a US federal watchdog had offered to audit the giant’s computer security – but was rebuffed. And, after miscreants looted Anthem’s servers and accessed up to 88.8 million private records, the watchdog again offered to audit the insurer’s…
Category: Health Data
Complicated relationships and breach notification requirements
A notification to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office from McDermott Will & Emery LLP provides a useful illustration of how some organizations may be struggling to determine their notification obligations to states as a result of the Anthem breach: If a law firm has trouble figuring out their obligations, can you imagine what others are struggling with? Coincidentally, perhaps, an attorney at…
PA: Benecard employees say data breach made them victims of tax refund fraud
Barbara Miller reports: A class action lawsuit filed Feb. 26 claims prescription benefit company Benecard Services Inc., which has an office in Mechanicsburg, failed to notify former employees and customers of a recent data breach. The suit, filed in U.S. Middle District Court by Harrisburg attorney Benjamin Andreozzi, is on behalf of five former employees…
Legal liabilities in recent data breach extend far beyond Anthem
Joseph Conn reports: The potential legal liabilities from the unprecedented breach of some 80 million individuals’ records at Indianapolis-based insurance giant Anthem could entangle nearly 60 health insurance plans from Hawaii to Puerto Rico, legal experts say. More than 50 class-action lawsuits related to the breach already have been filed in less than a month. The plans could find…
FBI close to IDing Anthem hacker
Cory Bennett reports: The FBI is close to naming the cyberattacker behind the Anthem data breach. Whether it tells the public, though, remains to be seen. “We’re close already,” said Robert Anderson, who leads the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, during a Tuesday roundtable with reporters. “But we’re not going to say it…
Millions of Children Exposed to ID Theft Through Anthem Breach
Herb Weisman reports: Adults aren’t the only ones who can have their identity stolen. Tens of millions of American children had their Social Security numbers, date of birth and health care ID numbers stolen in the recent data breach at health insurance giant, Anthem Inc. This exposes these kids to the real risk of identity…