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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday November 11 2018, @07:28AM   Printer-friendly
from the another-day-another-breach dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Hackers stole income, immigration and tax data in Healthcare.gov breach, government confirms

Hackers siphoned off thousands of Healthcare.gov applications by breaking into the accounts of brokers and agents tasked with helping customers sign up for healthcare plans.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a post buried on its website that the hackers obtained “inappropriate access” to a number of broker and agent accounts, which “engaged in excessive searching” of the government’s healthcare marketplace systems.

CMS didn’t say how the attackers gained access to the accounts, but said it shut off the affected accounts “immediately.”

In a letter sent to affected customers this week (and buried on the Healthcare.gov website), CMS disclosed that sensitive personal data — including partial Social Security numbers, immigration status and some tax information — may have been taken.

According to the letter, the data included:

  • Name, date of birth, address, sex, and the last four digits of the Social Security number (SSN), if SSN was provided on the application;
  • Other information provided on the application, including expected income, tax filing status, family relationships, whether the applicant is a citizen or an immigrant, immigration document types and numbers, employer name, whether the applicant was pregnant, and whether the applicant already had health insurance;
  • Information provided by other federal agencies and data sources to confirm the information provided on the application, and whether the Marketplace asked the applicant for documents or explanations;
  • The results of the application, including whether the applicant was eligible to enroll in a qualified health plan (QHP), and if eligible, the tax credit amount; and
  • If the applicant enrolled, the name of the insurance plan, the premium, and dates of coverage.

But the government said that no bank account information — including credit card numbers, or diagnostic and treatment information — was taken.

Adding insult to injury


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 11 2018, @04:50PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 11 2018, @04:50PM (#760658)

    i had to lock my credit b/c people were opening accounts in my name all over the country. i don't really give a shit about my credit, but i don't need the collectors calling and there's the principle of the matter. anywho, the companies who allow the data to be stolen and the companies who give credit in my name to ID thieves(for lack of a better term) should be held criminally/physically responsible. why these dumb asses think they can harass me about it is beyond me. i plan to make them all pay for their transgressions when i get the resources gathered up. vengeance is nigh!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 11 2018, @06:47PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 11 2018, @06:47PM (#760676)

    It's more convenient to dump the problems on you, a peon, than to annoy the good friends of congressmen.

  • (Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Sunday November 11 2018, @10:59PM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday November 11 2018, @10:59PM (#760731) Journal

    i had to lock my credit b/c people were opening accounts in my name all over the country.

    Have you considered changing your name to something different than Anonymous Coward?

    (grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford