Anthem Data Breach
Hello Hackers. We've been waiting for you. What took you SO long?
I say that because insurance agents have worried about this since 2008 when the Affordable Care Act (obamacare) was first introduced. Agents refused to host the sensitive information, so the insurance companies had to address it, & they didn't want to either! In this age of cyberlife, every time we turn around we hear that somebody hacked into something.
Here is what yoy need to know immediately:
Q: What info did the hackers get?
A: The member data accessed included names, dates of birth, member ID/ social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and employment information.
Q: What info did they NOT get?
A: Based on what we know now, there is no evidence that credit card or medical information were targeted or compromised.
Q: Who are the hackers?
A: We don't know yet.
Q: Do I need to monitor my credit?
A: Maybe. If YOUR information was compromised, you will receive notice via mail which will advise you of the protections being offered to you as well as any next steps. Most likely, you'll be offered a year of "free" credit monitoring from one of the bureaus.
As usual, I have my thoughts about what/who the hackers are after. I think they simply want a list of people who are not getting subsidies so they can narrow down where the best targets are to send spam/marketing email & they're looking to SELL that list to advertisers. If you don't qualify for a subsidy they think you're a good person to keep tabs on. To a "data collector" just connecting your email address to a non-subsidized health plan is like GOLD. If I were the kind of business to buy personal information, I could buy that hackers list & know exactly who could afford my product, or who to focus on to avoid wasting my time as I call to get "donations" for a "charity". Glad I'm not in that line of work & won't be looking to purchase any of that info! Such a violation!
Lack of subsidy does not always mean "rolling in dough" though, & the jerks will be disappointed with some of their harvest. Keep your eyes on your mail & as always in this era, your credit report, too. We aren't sure what they'll do with what they've got, we can only guess.
