Some Blue Cross members affected by cyberattack

Staff report TPI Staff

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBSAL) learned on July 8 one of its vendor partners, North Highland Company, LLC, suffered a significant cyberattack on their information technology systems. The incident resulted in the potential compromise of personal information of some current and former members of BCBSAL’s Medicare Advantage plan, “Blue Advantage.”

North Highland first became aware of the cyberattack on June 6 and quickly took steps to secure their systems and engage third-party forensic response experts to assist in their remediation efforts and prevent future incidents.

North Highland’s investigation into the matter determined the compromised personal information may have included demographic details (name, age and gender), as well as city, zip code and email addresses, for up to 8,700 of Blue Cross’ current and former Blue Advantage members.

Winners featured on the cover and inside pages of our October magazine edition. Submissions accepted in acrylics, oil, watercolor, pastels, pencil & photography. (Up to three works of art per artist accepted)

Entries must reflect life and scenes in Tallapoosa County or the Lake Martin area.

All entries must be framed, matted or mounted on boards and ready to hang.

A panel of local artists will judge the entries. There is no fee to enter, and no prizes or monetary awards will be made. This year’s contest is just for fun!

Clearly mark each entry with the artist’s name, address and telephone number and deliver entries to the office of Lake Martin Living magazine on or before 5 p.m. September 23.

The office is located at 548 Cherokee Road, Alexander City, across from Benjamin Russell High School.

Please call magazine editor-in-chief Betsy Iler at 256-234-4282 with questions or email editor@lakemartinmagazine.com.

In a press release from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, the company stated that North Highland has determined “no credit card information, no banking information or Social Security numbers were compromised.” Additionally, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama stated they had “obtained assurance from North Highland that Blue Cross member data is no longer present in their active system environment.”

“Blue Cross is notifying in writing its current and former Blue Advantage members who may have been impacted by this incident and is offering them one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services,” the statement said.

Blue Cross also encourages anyone affected by this incident to contact Blue Advantage Customer Service at 888-234-8266 with any questions or concerns.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama has been providing insurance to Alabamians for over 86 years. Blue Cross offers coverage plans to corporations, individuals and the senior market. For more information about Blue Cross, visit AlabamaBlue.com.