Apparently, hackers stole even more of Express Scripts’ member information than was initially revealed last fall. An additional 1,771 New Hampshire residents are being sent data breach notification letters this week, according to a September 14 letter from Express Scripts.
Express Scripts, one of the world’s largest pharmacy benefits management companies, revealed in November 2008 that hackers demanded ransom in exchange for stolen customer information. Unless the ransom was paid, the hackers threatened to reveal the members’ information.
To strengthen their threat, the hackers sent personal information–including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and some prescription details–of 75 of the firm’s 50 million customers.
Express Scripts publicly refused to pay the ransom, even after some of their customers received similar letters, extortion attempts and sample employee information. Toyota, government agencies and labor unions were among those contacted by the hackers. (more…)
How important is it that you construct a strong password? Just ask Fox and Friends Weekend co-host Dave Briggs, or former Alaskan governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Both of them have had their email accounts hacked by intruders who were able to guess their victims’ passwords.