On November 18, 2023, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company experienced a data breach due to a **coding transmission error**, which misdirected electronic dental claim information. The incident, reported by the California Office of the Attorney General on April 22, 2024, exposed **personal data** of affected patients, including **names and Social Security numbers**. While the exact number of impacted individuals remains undisclosed, the breach involved sensitive information that could lead to identity theft or financial fraud. The error highlights vulnerabilities in data handling processes, particularly in secure transmission protocols. As a major insurance provider, the exposure of such data poses risks to customer trust and regulatory compliance, potentially triggering legal repercussions under data protection laws like **CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)**. The breach underscores the need for stricter validation mechanisms in electronic data transfers to prevent similar misdirections in the future.
Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-584216
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/metlife
"id": "met416090725",
"linkid": "metlife",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "11/2023",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Insurance / Healthcare (Dental Claims)',
'location': 'United States (California)',
'name': 'Metropolitan Life Insurance Company',
'type': 'Insurance Company'}],
'data_breach': {'personally_identifiable_information': True,
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (PII, SSNs)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal data (names)',
'Social Security numbers',
'Electronic dental claim '
'information']},
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-04-22',
'description': 'On April 22, 2024, the California Office of the Attorney '
'General reported a data breach involving Metropolitan Life '
'Insurance Company that occurred on November 18, 2023. The '
'breach was due to a coding transmission error that '
'misdirected electronic dental claim information, potentially '
'involving personal data such as names and Social Security '
'numbers of affected patients, although the exact number of '
'individuals impacted was not specified.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': True, 'identity_theft_risk': True},
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Coding transmission error leading '
'to misdirected electronic dental '
'claim information'},
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2024-04-22',
'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'California Office of '
'the Attorney General'},
'title': 'Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Data Breach Due to Coding '
'Transmission Error',
'type': 'Data Breach',
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Coding transmission error'}