Obamacare Site Hacked
FILE
Reports surfaced Thursday that a hacker was able to breach the federal healthcare website many Americans have trusted with personal information to upload malicious software in an effort to use the website to launch cyberattacks. Officials reportedly only learned about the July 8 hacking of the Healthcare.gov website last week.
Via MarketWatch:
Investigators found no evidence that consumers’ personal data was taken in the breach, federal officials said. The hacker appears only to have accessed a server used to test code for HealthCare.gov. The Department of Health and Human Services discovered the attack last week.An HHS official said the attack appears to mark the first successful intrusion into the website, where millions of Americans bought insurance starting last year under the Affordable Care Act. It raised concerns among federal officials because of how easily the intruder gained access and how much damage could have occurred.“Our review indicates that the server did not contain consumer personal information; data was not transmitted outside the agency, and the website was not specifically targeted,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a written statement. “We have taken measures to further strengthen security.”
The breach of healthcare website, which has already been at the center of plenty of bad press, is likely to cause big problems for the Obama Administration ahead of the Nov. 15 kickoff for Obamacare open enrollment.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) has called on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to testify before Congress about the website’s security.
“For nearly a year, the administration has dismissed concerns about the security of HealthCare.gov, even as it obstructed congressional oversight of the issue,” he said in a statement. “The committee will continue to push for answers from the administration and Administrator Tavenner must testify on the subject of transparency, accountability, and information security alongside the Government Accountability Office at our September 18th hearing.”
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