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Scams

by Mike Masnick

Fri, Nov 7th 2008 3:20pm




Filed Under:
data breach, extortion, fbi, medical benefits

Companies:
express scripts, fbi


Another Day, Another Big Data Breach

from the do-people-even-pay-attention? dept

These days, it's probably best to just assume that any private data you've ever provided to a company is public. Given the pace at which the data you've entrusted to companies is leaked, whether via malicious hackers or via company carelessness, it's almost as if the exception to the rule is a company that's actually been able to keep your data safe. So it's hardly surprising that Express Scripts, the massive medical benefits management company, has said that its records appear to have been compromised. Apparently, the company was sent a note, detailing the medical records of about 75 people, with an extortion threat telling the company to pay up or face the exposure of millions of patient records. The FBI is now investigating. Still, we're reminded once again that companies have very little incentive to really keep your records straight. It's almost reached the point where these stories are barely worth commenting on, since they're so common. There's something quite depressing when you realize that these sorts of data breaches are barely even newsworthy any more.

6 Comments | Leave a Comment

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  1.  
    identicon
    Bradley Stewart, Nov 7th, 2008 @ 4:02pm

    DATA LOST BY ANOTHER COMPANY!

    I believe that its clear how little respect that so many company's have for there customers today. I also believe how little respect the our government has for the American people not to mention other citzens around the world to let this to keep going on. I think that we should start throwing these bums who run these company's in jail for not preventing the preventable. It's clear to me that this is the only way to solve this and other problems like this in business.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Salon, Nov 7th, 2008 @ 4:14pm

    Whew. I almost signed myself up for this service to get my allergy meds in delivered 3-month supply instead of 1 mo. at a time trip to the pharmacy...luckily the form they sent me to fill out is such a non-sensical pain in the ass I put it off to my benefit.

    A freaking medical-related company should have much higher security measures in place!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    icon
    Adam (profile), Nov 7th, 2008 @ 4:38pm

    YADL: yet another data leak

    The root of the problem is that keepers of on line data don't seem to understand that securing that data is an ongoing problem; they buy or lash together a solution that's adequate briefly but soon yields to more sophisticated probes.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 7th, 2008 @ 7:34pm

    HIPAA enforcement is a joke

    Enough said.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    Loring Neumann, Nov 8th, 2008 @ 5:23pm

    express scripts hack

    Great now my medical data has been hacked. I guess I should find a good lawyer and file a class action lawsuit.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 10th, 2008 @ 8:40am

    Does HIPPA come into play?

    They should. I think this is evidence of a HIPPA violation.

    Now the question is what the penalties are.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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