[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Hackermania.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]BREAKING NEWS This time the data breach is at Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, which covers upstate New York (Rochester-Syracuse area). It was discovered by Excellus on 5 August but dated back to 23 Dec 13, and reportedly has compromised members’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, financial account information and in some cases sensitive medical information. According to the AP/NBC, it also breached other divisions of Excellus and the corporate parent, Lifetime Healthcare: Lifetime Benefit Solutions, Lifetime Care, Lifetime Health Medical Group, The MedAmerica Companies and Univera Healthcare. The source of the hack has not yet been determined.

Excellus joins fellow BCBS members Anthem [TTA 11 Feb], soon to be merging with Cigna, with 80 million; Premera Blue Cross [TTA 24 Mar] with 11 million, Care First with a ‘bag o’ shells’ 1.1. million [TTA 2 June]. The pattern has been such that the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) announced in July that it will offer all 106 million of its members identity protection starting next January. (Note for our mathematicians: Anthem has millions of non-BCBS members) Chinese hackers are suspected in the Anthem breach.

FierceHealthPayer broke the story, in this Editor’s estimation, to the healthcare trade area. Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Excellus message to policyholders. The NBC/AP report also has a video interview with Eugene Kaspersky of the eponymous anti-virus software (and whose Kaspersky Lab was also a hacking victim earlier this year)

Updated via the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:  FireEye is becoming the ‘go-to’ security company for health organization breaches–Excellus hired them in the wake of the Anthem breach and they discovered the vulnerability facilitating the breach.