Millions of customers of America’s largest dental insurance company had their personal information compromised in a ransomware breach.
MCNA Dental claims to be the nation’s largest dental insurer for government-sponsored Medicaid and CHIP programs.
A notice posted on its website on Friday said the company became aware of the unauthorized network activity on March 6.
“We took immediate steps to stop the activity. We immediately launched an investigation. A special team was hired to help us,” he continued.
“Between February 26, 2023 and March 7, 2023, criminals were able to view and obtain copies of some information in our computer systems.”
Information retrieved includes: home and email address. date of birth; phone number; social security number; driver’s license/government-issued ID number. health insurance information; And invoices and insurance claims.
Some of this information was not intended for the customers themselves, but for parents, guardians or payers.
More than 8.9 million people were affected, according to an infringement notice posted on the website of the Maine Attorney General’s Office, but the MCNA argued that “the information viewed and retrieved is not the same for everyone.”
The notorious ransomware group LockBit appears to be behind the attack. MCNA claimed to have released all the files leaked via the leaked site in early April after refusing to pay a ransom demand of millions of dollars.
The insurance company is offering one year of free identity theft protection to affected customers. Given the wealth of personal, financial and insurance data in the hands of cybercriminals, customers would be advised to prepare for subsequent phishing and identity fraud attempts.
