Premera cyberattack affects 11 million customers

Hackers pierced the cybersecurity of Washington’s biggest health insurer last spring and got a peek at data for an estimated 11 million customers, but the company didn’t discover the breach until January.

Premera Blue Cross called it a “sophisticated attack to gain unauthorized access to our Information Technology Systems” in a statement on a special company website. There’s no indication that any of the data – which dates as far back as 2002 and includes addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers and medical information – was used, according to the company.

The insurer is offering current clients and those with policies within the last two years free credit protection and identity theft insurance.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler questioned the six-week delay in telling state officials and the public about the breach. Six million of the affected customers are Washington residents. The insurance company, which is the largest provider of health coverage in the state, said it was working with the FBI to investigate the attack and with top private cybersecurity experts to clean their system of any infection. The company added it is strengthening the security of its systems.

“Premera has assured me that there is no evidence to date that any information was removed from their system or that any data has been used,” Kreidler said in a news release. He will ask all other insurance companies in the state to review their security and take steps to protect their customers’ data.

The report of the data breach for Premera comes about a month after Anthem Inc., the nation’s second-largest health insurer, reported its system containing information for as many as 80 million customers was hacked.

Last year, Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, which owns Deaconess Hospital, Valley Hospital and Rockwood Clinic, said a cyberattack accessed information on 4.5 million patients. Other cyberattacks have hit the system for Target stores and Sony Pictures.