Another Day, Another Big Data Breach

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

Fri, Nov 7th 2008 3:20pm — Mike Masnick

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.

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Filed Under: data breach, extortion, fbi, medical benefits
Companies: express scripts, fbi

6 Comments

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Bradley Stewart, 7 Nov 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.
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Salon, 7 Nov 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!
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Adam (profile), 7 Nov 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.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Nov 2008 @ 7:34pm

HIPAA enforcement is a joke
Enough said.
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Loring Neumann, 8 Nov 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.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Nov 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.
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