'Ongoing concern': D.C. healthcare data breach exposes over 56,000 peoples' social security numbers

11 March 2023

More than 56,000 people, including Congress members and their families, were hit by a data breach of an online Washington, D.C., healthcare marketplace, exposing social security numbers and other personal information, Rolling Stone reports.

More than 100,000 people utilize D.C. Health Link marketplace's services, which includes "11,000 members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers," according to Rolling Stone.

Per Rolling Stone, the House Administration Committee confirmed it would "launch an investigation" into the breach, tweeting, "Chairman [Bryan] Steil is aware of the breach and is working with the CAO to ensure the vendor takes necessary steps to protect the PII of any impacted member, staff, and their families."

NYT reports:

The investigation has found that 56,415 customers were affected, and the data stolen includes names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, health plan information and other personal information, including home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, ethnicity and citizenship status.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), in an email earlier this week — which Rolling Stone reports Politico received — wrote, "This breach significantly increases the risk that members, staff, and their families will experience identity theft, financial crimes, and physical threats — already an ongoing concern."

The email continued, "Right now, our top priority is protecting the safety and security of anyone in the Capitol Hill community affected by the cyber hack."

Rolling Stone's full report is available at this link (subscription required). The New York Times' full report is here (subscription required).

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