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| F.B.I. Looks Into a Threat to Reveal Patient Data |
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 pfroehlich writes "November 7, 2008
F.B.I. Looks Into a Threat to Reveal Patient Data
By JOHN MARKOFF
SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating an extortion letter threatening to expose millions of patient records stolen from Express Scripts, a medical benefits management company.
The company said Thursday that it had been investigating the threat since early October, when it received a letter that contained personal information on about 75 of its members including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and, in some cases, prescription information.
The company said that it had immediately notified the F.B.I. and that it had retained outside experts in data security and computer forensics to aid in the company’s internal investigation.
“We have been conducting a thorough investigation since we received this threat and we are taking it very seriously,” said George Paz, chairman and chief executive, in a statement. “We are cooperating with the F.B.I. and are committed to doing what we can to protect our members’ personal information and to track down the person or persons responsible for this criminal act.”
The company also announced that it had created a Web site for members to obtain information about the incident and learn how to protect themselves from identity theft. The Web site is www.esisupports.com.
Express Scripts, based in St. Louis, is one of the largest pharmacy benefits management companies in the United States. It handles prescription benefits for approximately 50 million people through clients like health insurers, employers and union-sponsored medical plans.
A spokesman for the company said that Express Scripts was still trying to ascertain the exact nature of the theft.
“All we know about the nature of the data taken is that the letter enabled us to tell where in our system it was taken from,” said the spokesman, Steve Littlejohn. “We’re not ruling anything out.”
He said that because of the investigation, the company was not willing to give details about the nature of the threat letter, such as whether it was sent as an e-mail message or through the United States postal system. He also said that the extortion threat was for money, but would not disclose the amount.
Mr. Littlejohn said the company was still not certain how much data had actually been stolen. He also said the company had not ruled out the possibility of an insider theft.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/business/07data.html?ei=5070&emc=eta1"
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Posted on Wednesday, January 28 @ 12:42:05 CST by johntierney |
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