| Stolen BlueCross hard drives affect 220,000 members |
By: AP
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Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010 9:02 pm
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| CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Computer hard drives stolen from a BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee closet in Chattanooga contain personal information on 220,000 members, and that count could more than double, an ongoing investigation shows. A Wednesday statement from the state’s largest health insurer shows that as many as 500,000 members, including some in other states, could eventually be identified as facing a risk of identity theft. So far, there is no evidence that any stolen customer data has been used. Police have said the equipment is highly specialized and investigators are looking for any hint of it being offered for exchange or for sale. BlueCross and law enforcement agencies are investigating the Oct. 2 theft of 57 computer hard drives. Some of them contain Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and medical information. Letters are being mailed to current and former members explaining how much of their personal information is at risk and BlueCross is offering a year of free ID protection monitoring to those affected among its 3.1 million customers. While most members reside in Tennessee, there are some in every state. The hard drives — some video and some audio files — were stolen from a closet in leased offices where BlueCross had a call center. The files contained data that was encoded but not encrypted. The statement released by BlueCross spokeswoman Mary Thompson said the insurer believes “there is minimal risk to members’ data being accessed due to the specialized nature of the hardware stolen and the difficulties associated with accessing” it. BlueCross has backup files of all the stolen data. Thompson previously said BlueCRoss has bolstered security at all facilities by adding video surveillance, reviewing card access readers and increasing security personnel. She said hundreds of employees and temporary staff have been retrieving and reviewing backup files, combing through screen images and reviewing audio to determine what data was stolen. She has said BlueCross has insurance to cover related costs. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee: http://www.bcbst.com/ Published in The Messenger 1.14.10 |
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