Premera Blue Cross is asking its customers of two or more years to sign up for free credit protection and identity theft insurance after a cyberattack on the company jeopardized information for about 11 million of its customers.
This service is also included for customers going through the Oregon health care company LifeWise, an affiliate of Premera Blue Cross. Premera Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and serves residents in Alaska and Washington.
Melanie Coon, media relations for Premera Blue Cross, said an estimated 6 million Washingtonians’ accounts were affected by the breach, but not necessarily accessed. Coon said the breach affects customers who have done business with the company dating back to 2002, whether they are a current customer or not.
Premera Blue Cross is sending out letters to inform customers of the cyberattack, however, Coon said to speed up the process all current and past customers should visit www.premeraupdate.com.
Josh Jordan, media relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Idaho, said it is unclear if there were any accounts hacked in Idaho. Jordan said it’s important to remember Premera is an independent licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield.
It’s unknown how much time it may take to determine if any accounts in Idaho were accessed, Jordan said, but Blue Cross Blue Shield is investigating.
Premera Blue Cross is currently providing health benefits and services to more than 1.8 million people.
Date: March 18, 2015