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Brightline Data Security Incident – Information for Members
TeamstersCare wants to inform you about a data security incident that may have impacted your personal information. Please read further below information about the incident, the response, and steps you may take to protect against the possibility of identity theft and fraud. Please note, all affected TeamstersCare members have been mailed a customized and detailed letter from Brightline, dated April 7, 2023.
Brightline, a business partner of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (“BCBSMA”), provides online personal behavioral health benefits for kids, teens and families. Brightline uses a vendor, Fortra LLC (“Fortra”), to electronically transmit eligibility files provided by health plans, including BCBSMA.
What Happened
Fortra reported to Brightline that on January 30, 2023, it detected suspicious activity on certain software and discovered that an unauthorized party exploited an unknown vulnerability to gain access to certain Fortra accounts and download files. Fortra represented that it immediately took the impacted system offline, contacted law enforcement, stabilized the environment, corrected the software, enabled further security protections and developed a patch to the vulnerable solution. While the investigation continues, on February 4, 2023, Fortra determined that certain files containing BCBSMA’s eligibility flies were downloaded by the unauthorized third-party on January 28th, 2023, and January 30th, 2023.
What Information Was Involved
The following personal Information may have been accessed by an unauthorized party: The name, address, date of birth, gender, member identification number, date of health plan coverage, your employer’s name and account number of some TeamstersCare BCBSMA members. The data did not include social security number, dependent Information, or any diagnosis/health Information, or financial data.
What Brightline is Doing
As soon as Brightline became aware of the incident, they took Immediate action to investigate it, including confirming that Fortra addressed the vulnerability exploited in this event. They implemented additional security measures and initiated ongoing measures to reduce data exposure until an alternative file transfer solution is identified and implemented. They continue to enhance their cybersecurity program to further safeguard systems from cyber threats.
As a precaution, Brightline has secured Cyberscout to provide identity theft restoration and credit monitoring services to affected members for two years at no cost. Affected members should refer to the unique code in their letter from Brightline to enroll in Credit Monitoring services.
What You Can Do
Order Your Free Credit Report. To order your free annual credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free at (877) 322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website at www.ftc.gov and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Protecting Against Medical Identify Theft. The following practices can help to protect you from medical identity theft: (1) Only share your health insurance cards with your health care providers and other family members who are covered under your Insurance plan or who help you with your medical care, (2) Review your “explanation of benefits statement” which you receive from your health insurance company. Follow up with your insurance company or care provider for any items you do not recognize. If necessary, contact the care provider on the explanation of benefits statement and ask for copies of medical records from the date of the potential access (noted above) to current date; and (3) Ask your insurance company for a current year-to-date report of all services paid for you as a beneficiary. Follow up with your insurance company or the care provider for any Items you do not recognize.
More Information: Brightline is committed to data protection, and will continue to take appropriate steps to safeguard personal information and our systems. Should you have any additional questions, please call 1-833-570-2987 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
