Are you one of the 80 million [1 of every 4] Americans who has ever had health insurance with Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink, and DeCare?
Guess what?
You are fucked, for life.
Why should we get upset about this (now common) malfeasance by corporate America?
Here's why.
Not all data breaches are created equal, and the Anthem health insurance hack is about as bad as they get for consumers.
Why? This time the crooks got Social Security numbers. For identity thieves, the Social Security number is the key that unlocks the vault, and they now have millions of them.
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
How bad was it?
Hackers appear to have accessed customers' names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, member ID numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and employment information, Anthem said. Some of the customer data may also include details on their income.
http://www.latimes.com/...
How can you be harmed?
“It is extremely advisable for consumers to monitor all of their accounts,” Mr. Stephens said. “And it goes well beyond your credit. If you have a 401(k), a stock brokerage account, savings accounts, they are all going to be vulnerable as a result of this breach.”
http://www.nytimes.com/...
This lifetime of trying to protect yourself from identity theft begins here:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/...
Act quickly. And realize that this is your life now.
There is very little you can do about it.
Saved a tiny nest egg for your family?
You will need to defend it, forever.
How could this happen? Because Anthem didn't encrypt our data, and there is no law that says they must.
Here is my proposal.
1. A Congressional inquiry into this data breach that seriously considers revoking Anthem’s corporate charter to do business in the United States.
2. A class-action lawsuit against Anthem. They should pay a heavy price for this predictable disaster and every medical insurance company must get the message that protecting its customer’s information is paramount.
UPDATE: Here are the first rumblings of a massive class-action lawsuit.
http://www.ibj.com/...