Hackers Score Again

The Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS) notified the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) on Monday the server that houses Medicaid claims was hacked. On Wednesday, the UDOH publicly announced the breach. On Friday, DTS revealed the damage: 181,604 Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) recipients had their personal information stolen. Of those, 25,096 appear had their Social Security numbers (SSNs) compromised.

The agency is cooperating with law enforcement in a criminal investigation. The hackers, who are believed to be located in Eastern Europe, breached the server in question on March 30, 2012.

This sort of thing can't be helped, but it's a good reason why businesses must be diligent.  Medical information is privileged, combined with family history, social security numbers, allergies, medication and vulnerabilities listed leave victims exposed in every way possible.

So far, no reports have indicated that the Utah Department of Health failed to protect those records to the best of their ability.  Even the best systems can fail to the best hackers.  It's just another reminder that no information is safe, no protection is foolproof.