Atlanta-based dental insurer MCNA (Managed Care of North America) Dental has suffered a massive ransomware attack, compromising the sensitive personal and medical data of nearly nine million people. The company recently revealed that an intruder gained access to its systems between February 26 and March 7, 2023. They could see and take copies of various sorts of information about MCNA Dental’s customers.
According to an official notice published on the company’s website, the compromised information includes the full name, address, date of birth, phone number, email, Social Security number, and ID (driver’s license or other government-issued ID). The intruder could also obtain information about the health insurance (plan details, insurance provider, member number, Medicaid-Medicare ID numbers), details care details (dentist name, doctor name, visits, past care, x-rays, photos, medicines, treatment), and bills and insurance claims.
Some of the stolen information was for a parent, guardian, or guarantor, who is the person who paid the bill. This suggests that some children were also affected. Overall, this data breach compromised the data of more than 8.9 million people. The company learned about this breach on May 3, more than two months after the intruder first gained unauthorized access to the systems. MCNA Dental has since launched an investigation and also notified affected customers via letters sent to their mailing addresses.
Russian ransomware group LockBit breached the MCNA Dental servers
While MCNA Dental didn’t explicitly say it was a ransomware attack or revealed the identity of perpetrators, Techcrunch reports that the Russian ransomware group LockBit has taken responsibility for it. The group reportedly demanded a $10 million ransom from the company, which it refused to pay. The attackers have now published all of the stolen information on the dark web. The publication has seen a listing on LockBit’s dark web leak site, which suggests that the ransomware gang stole 700GB of data during this breach.
The samples provided on the site confirm that the leaked data includes sensitive information about MCNA Dental customers. This poses a serious threat of identity theft to affected people. The company is offering one year of free identity theft protection to them. But if you have been a customer of MCNA Dental, you might want to stay vigilant and keep an eye on your bank accounts. Do not respond to calls, messages, or emails that look suspicious. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach MCNA Dental on the toll-free number at 1-888-220-5006.
2023-06-01 15:13:45