Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and Davidson Companies Expose over half a Million in Final Days.
After a record number of data breaches in 2007 one would think tighter security would become a priority in 2008 but the first month showed no signs of this. Though, on average, there was a breach every day in January many seemed small in nature until the end of the month which closed with a bang led by large breaches at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and Davidson Companies. A hacker tapped in to Davidson Companies database and stole the personal information of 226,000 clients of the financial services company. The personal information included names, addresses, SSN’s, bank account numbers and balances. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield also reported at the end of the month that a stolen laptop contained private information including social security numbers on over 300,000 clients.
Large breaches earlier in the month occurred when online store Geeks.com was hacked (unknown number), GE Money lost the records of 150,000 on a backup tape, and the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services used a vendor who printed the SSN’s of 260,000 people on the outside of an envelope they mailed. Universities continued their poor streak with 10 reporting breaches in January the largest coming from Georgetown University in Washington, DC who had a hard drive, containing the SSN’s of 38,000 students, alumni and employees, stolen. If January is any indication it looks like 2008 is going to be another bad year for data breaches.
Another breach of note occurred at OmniAmerican Bank who was hacked by an international gang of hackers who stole account numbers, created new PIN’s and debit cards and then withdrew cash from ATM’s all over the world including New York. The Bank was on to these criminals quickly and mitigated the loss to about 100 clients by shutting everyone’s bank account down. This is of particular interest however because it showed the vast network of these criminal gangs and the speed at which they can work. Withdraws were done all over Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Britain as well as in New York.
We at Identity Theft Labs have been saying for awhile now that there are large professional gangs both inside and outside the US who are targeting Americans and this was just another example of what we already knew. It is unfortunate but apparent that our personal information can not be held securely and that it is being used against us. This is why it has become essential to take the necessary steps to protect yourself from identity theft and to include some form of insurance in your identity protection plan.
The reason Lifelock, Loudsiren and TrustedID are growing so quickly is that many Americans have realized this, though it is far from mainstream. This is why identity theft education is so important. Far too many Americans are sitting back thinking that identity theft won’t happen to them, thinking that they never had to purchase identity insurance before so why should they do it now. Quite simply its a different world than what we grew up in and insurance no matter whether its life, fire, car or whatever always feels like a waste of money until it happens to you. The fact of the matter is that we can’t afford to not protect ourselves.
So get out there and buy a cross cut shredder, place those fraud alerts at the three credit bureaus, remove yourself from pre-approved credit card offers, order your free credit reports and buy some identity insurance. It simply needs to be done. If your not going to do this yourself then look in to the identity protection services from LifeLock, LoudSiren or anyone else and have them take all these steps on your behalf. In three minutes you can have the peace of mind that their insurance or service guarantee provides, and the most effective identity protection plan on the market today. Trust me its worth it.