Millions Potentially Impacted by Blue Cross of Illinois Breach
Table of Contents
- By Steven
- Published: Aug 30, 2023
- Last Updated: Aug 31, 2023
Blue Bross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest insurance company in Illinois, serving over 8.9 million individuals. The company handles a huge amount of medical information and is responsible for ensuring that millions of people have the medical and dental insurance they need. The company recently discovered it was indirectly the victim of a data breach and that some of its customers were at risk. Learn more about the breach below.
How Did the Attack Occur?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield servers themselves were not breached, but BCBS customers were exposed through a third-party administration service provider called TMG Health. On June 23, 2023, BCBS learned about TMG Health being breached on June 21. There is no information in the official report about how the breach was possible, but the attackers clearly had access to personal and health-related information.
What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?
After learning of the TMG Health breach, BCBS began investigating the incident to learn more about all the potential damage from the incident. Through the investigation, it became clear that any victims involved were at risk of losing their Social Security numbers, birth dates, home addresses, emails, medical service information, bank information, and their phone numbers. All this data could be harmful if misused, and it's very likely the attackers will misuse the information in an attempt to earn money from it. There is no way to control what the hackers do with the stolen data, and a large number of BCBS Illinois customers may be at risk because of this data breach.
How Did Blue Cross and Blue Shield Admit to the Breach?
The insurance provider admitted to the breach on August 14, 2023, by sending out individual notices to everyone believed to be involved. The company also filed an official notice with the Maine Attorney General's office. Between these two actions, everyone involved should understand what happened in this data breach and what to expect from the attackers as well.
What Will Become of the Stolen Information?
It's possible the stolen data won't be used, but it will likely be leveraged for identity theft attacks and for phishing attacks. The hackers may also resell the information to others. Be careful to protect your information and to avoid giving up more data, or you'll likely face more issues in the future.
What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?
If you receive a notice in the mail explaining your data was involved in this latest breach, you must take action to protect yourself. Start by checking your credit for recent changes and verify any you find. If you note a strange change on your credit, follow up with the listed company and learn whether you initiated the action. Also, invest in a credit monitoring service or consider putting a freeze on your credit. Closely watch any financial accounts that may have had data exposed in this breach. If you monitor your data and accounts closely, you can actively prevent financial and credit issues from occurring because of the breach.