Blue Shield of California

On May 16, 2014, the California Department of Managed Health Care disclosed a data breach affecting Blue Shield of California, stemming from an administrative error in publicly filed documents between February and April 2013. The incident involved the inadvertent exposure of provider Social Security numbers (SSNs), though the exact number of affected individuals remained undisclosed. The breach was attributed to a procedural failure in redacting sensitive information before submission, leading to the unintended disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII). While no evidence suggested malicious exploitation of the exposed data, the incident posed risks of identity theft, financial fraud, or reputational harm to the impacted healthcare providers. The breach was reported over a year after its occurrence, raising concerns about delayed detection and response protocols within the organization. No ransomware or targeted cyber attack was involved, classifying it as a non-malicious but high-impact data exposure tied to internal process deficiencies.

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-45858

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/blue-shield-of-california

"id": "blu1001091725",
"linkid": "blue-shield-of-california",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "4/2013",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Unknown',
                        'industry': 'Healthcare',
                        'location': 'California, USA',
                        'name': 'Blue Shield of California',
                        'type': 'Health Insurance Provider'}],
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'No (Inadvertent Disclosure)',
                 'file_types_exposed': ['Public Documents'],
                 'number_of_records_exposed': 'Unknown',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (SSNs)',
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers '
                                              '(SSNs)']},
 'date_detected': '2014-05-16',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2014-07-11',
 'description': 'The California Department of Managed Health Care reported a '
                'data breach involving Blue Shield of California on July 11, '
                '2014. The breach occurred on May 16, 2014, due to an error in '
                'public documents submitted between February and April 2013, '
                'resulting in the inadvertent disclosure of provider Social '
                'Security numbers (SSNs). The number of affected individuals '
                'is unknown.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers (SSNs)'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSNs exposed)'},
 'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Human error in handling and '
                                           'submitting public documents '
                                           'containing SSNs'},
 'references': [{'source': 'California Department of Managed Health Care'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'Reported by California '
                                                       'Department of Managed '
                                                       'Health Care'},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public disclosure via California '
                                        'Department of Managed Health Care'},
 'title': 'Blue Shield of California Data Breach (2014)',
 'type': 'Data Breach',
 'vulnerability_exploited': 'Human Error (Inadvertent Disclosure in Public '
                            'Documents)'}