Lorenzo's Security Blog

A file containing identifying information for every physician in the country contracted with a Blues-affiliated insurance plan was on a laptop computer stolen from a BlueCross BlueShield Assn. employee. It is not yet known whether any identity theft has resulted from the data breach.

The file included the name, address, tax identification number and national provider identifier number for about 850,000 doctors, Jeff Smokler, spokesman for the Chicago-based Blues association, said Oct. 6. That number represents every physician who is part of the BlueCard network, which allows Blues members to access networks in other states, Smokler said.

Some 16% to 22% of those physicians listed — as many as 187,000 — used their Social Security numbers as a tax ID or NPI number, Smokler said.

The association updates its file of BlueCard network physicians weekly, Smokler said. An unidentified employee downloaded the unencrypted file onto his personal computer to work on it at home, a practice that is against company policy, he said.

“We are re-evaluating that protocol and how we prevent this from happening again,” Smokler said.

Smokler said Oct. 5 that he didn’t know exactly when the laptop was stolen. He said the organization “became aware of it” about three weeks ago.

The association has made its member plans responsible for notifying network physicians of the breach. The association is offering 12 months of credit monitoring automatically for those physicians whose Social Security numbers were included in the file, and for any other physicians who request the service through their local Blues plan, Smokler said.

“It was a mistake, an unfortunate mistake, but the association and plans involved have moved swiftly and deliberately to rectify the situation,” Smokler said.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Blue Cross Physicians Warning – Potential Data Breach With Stolen Laptop Computer (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)
• More University Data Stolen (q-ontech.blogspot.com)
• “Undocumented” ID thief turns in all his fake papers, asks for ticket home (michellemalkin.com)
• Hacked email accounts affect thousands (thestar.com)
• Will your privacy be compromised online? (cnn.com)
• Pocket Mojo – Social Networking’s Best Kept Secret (jonggunlee.tistory.com)