HACKED: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); 75K individuals affected

The United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said Friday it was responding to a data breach that exposed the files of about 75,000 people.

Reuters:

The agency said it detected anomalous activity in the Federally Facilitated Exchanges (FFE) Direct Enrollment pathway for agents and brokers.

The number of files accessed in the breach represented a small fraction of consumer records present on the FFE, the CMS said.

Here is the entire US CMS press release on the breach, published late Friday:

CMS Responding to Suspicious Activity in Agent and Broker Exchanges Portal

Earlier this week, CMS staff detected anomalous activity in the Federally Facilitated Exchanges, or FFEs Direct Enrollment pathway for agents and brokers. The Direct Enrollment pathway, first launched in 2013, allows agents and brokers to assist consumers with applications for coverage in the FFE.

At this time, we believe that approximately 75,000 individuals files were accessed. While this is a small fraction of consumer records present on the FFE, any breach of our system is unacceptable.

Our number one priority is the safety and security of the Americans we serve. We will continue to work around the clock to help those potentially impacted and ensure the protection of consumer information, said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. I want to make clear to the public that HealthCare.gov and the Marketplace Call Center are still available, and open enrollment will not be negatively impacted. We are working to identify the individuals potentially impacted as quickly as possible so that we can notify them and provide resources such as credit protection.

CMS followed standard and appropriate security and risk protocols for researching and reporting the incident.