Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

House Democrats Are the Latest to Raise Data Collection Privacy, Security AlarmsA plan by the U.S. federal agency that oversees federal benefits that would require insurers to hand over the identifiable health data of civil servants received pushback from House of Representatives Democrats who said it throws up privacy and security risks.

Senate HELP Committee Leaders Ask Insurer: What Went Wrong in the Cyberattack?A U.S. Senate committee is demanding details from insurance giant Aflac about the company's recent cyberattack that compromised the personal and health information of a yet undisclosed number of Americans. Senators last year gave the same scrutiny to the Change Healthcare mega-breach.

Farmers' HIPAA Breach Affects 1.1 Million; Aflac Is Still Counting VictimsTwo major U.S.-based insurers - Farmers Insurance and Aflac Inc. - have each reported to regulators data breaches involving two recent separate cyberattacks. The breaches follow a spring and summer spree of data exfiltration incidents that hit multiple large players in the insurance sector.

Attackers Stole US Customer Data Using Social EngineeringA malicious actor breached a customer relationship management platform used by Allianz Life Insurance of North America on July 16 and stole personally identifiable information of most of its 1.4 million U.S. customers, financial professionals and some employees, the company said.

Cybercrime gang Scattered Spider is the top suspect in several recent cyberattacks in the U.S. insurance sector, and it's likely that threat actors could still be lurking in other insurers' IT environments, said Peter McMurtrie of consulting firm West Monroe.

'IntelBroker' Faces Four-Count Indictment in Manhattan Federal CourtA hacker known online as "IntelBroker" and who has a history of spilling sensitive information faces a four-count criminal indictment in the United States after French police arrested him in February. IntelBroker's true identity is British national Kai West, U.S. federal Manhattan prosecutors said.

Frustrations Over Preauthorization Denials Have Led to 'Violence in Streets'A dozen health insurance giants that provide coverage for about 80% of Americans with Medicare, Medicaid and commercial plans have agreed to work the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to voluntarily streamline and improve their preauthorization processes.

Hackers Posing as Help Desks and Call Centers to Target Victims, Google WarnsA hacking collective behind recent cyberattacks on major British retailers has pivoted to target U.S. insurance firms, warned Google. Scattered Spider, tracked as UNC3944 by Google, is a financially motivated threat group consisting largely of English-speaking adolescents.

Multi-Line Insurance Company Warns Customers of Potential ScamsErie Indemnity Company, which offers a wide range of insurance including Medicare supplements and cyber coverage, has notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has been responding to a cyber incident since last weekend. The company is also warning customers of potential scams.

Multi-Line Insurance Company Warns Customers of Potential ScamsErie Indemnity Corp., which offers a wide range of insurance including Medicare supplements and cyber coverage, has notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has been responding to a cyber incident since last weekend. The company is also warning customers of potential scams.

Also, a 'Perfect Tool' for Cyberespionage and EU Stocks Up on Burner PhonesThis week, the cyber insurance market could double, Europe to use burner phones in the U.S., a BPFDoor campaign, "Alcasec" faces Spanish prison, a Thai harassment campaign and charges in Taiwan for a Chinese captain. China stonewalled a Swedish cable cutting investigation. 4Chan image board hacked.

Cost of Attack Has Reached $3.1 Billion for Parent Company UnitedHealth GroupOne of the biggest data breaches of 2024 is even worse than previously reported, as the tally of Change Healthcare breach victims has now reached 190 million individuals, and costs tied to the attack $3.1 billion, according to its owner, U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group.

InfoSys McCamish Systems Earlier Alerted 57,000 Bank of America Clients of BreachInfosys McCamish Systems, an insurance software product and services vendor, is notifying nearly 6.1 million people of a 2023 ransomware incident that potentially comprised their sensitive data, including Social Security numbers, medical treatment, and financial and biometric information.

Nearly 342,000 Affected; Health Data Incident Isn't Covered by HIPAA RulesA cyberattack on a Boston-based consulting firm that provides litigation support services to the U.S. Department of Justice in its investigations has potentially compromised Medicare numbers and other health insurance and medical information of nearly 342,000 individuals.

InfoSys McCamish Says Incident Involved BoA's Deferred Compensation Plan CustomersBank of America is notifying more than 57,000 customers that their information, including Social Security numbers, was potentially compromised in a hacking incident last November at Atlanta, Georgia-based insurance software firm InfoSys McCamish. BoA says none of its systems were affected.