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About 19K Del. Residents Affected By Insurance Data Breach

DOVER, Del. (CBS)—About 19,000 residents of Delaware may have been affected by a security data breach involving Summit Reinsurance Services, Inc. and BCS Financial Corporation, both subcontractors of Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware, the Delaware Department of Insurance has announced on Friday.

According to Karen Kane, Director of Privacy and Information Management for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, the breach impacts a total of 16 current and former Highmark self-insured customers and approximately 19,000 of their members.

Officials say they discovered the breach on August 8, 2016, when Summit discovered that ransomware had infected a server containing certain personal information.

Summit says they immediately launched an investigation to determine the name and scope of this event and to prevent the encryption of data contained on the server.

The company says it appears that the unauthorized access to the server first occurred on March 12, 2016. To date, Summit has no direct evidence that such data has been used inappropriately.

The information contained on the affected server may have included your name, Social Security number, health insurance information, provider's name, and/or claim-focused medical records containing diagnosis and clinical information, said Summit in a letter sent to customers.

"We are aware of the reported breach. I would like to ensure Delaware consumers that the Department of Insurance takes this matter seriously and is currently investigating how this occurred," said Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro ."I have directed my staff to closely monitor the situation as it develops. Many Delawareans have received mailed correspondence from SummitRe explaining the breach. Unfortunately, we fear that many may have misinterpreted or inadvertently discarded the letter as some form of a sales ad (due to the fact that they had not purchased any line of insurance from SummitRe).

The Commissioner has ordered an investigation into the reported breach. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware is cooperating with the Delaware Department of Insurance to resolve the matter.

If consumers have received a letter from SummitRe regarding this situation and have questions, they may contact the Delaware Department of Insurance at 1-800-282-8611 or 302-674-7300, or by e-mail at consumer@state.de.us.

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