NationsBenefits Breached Due to Fortra Hack

NationsBenefits, a Florida-based healthcare giant, has submitted a data breach notification to the New Hampshire attorney general, revealing that over 7,100 customers within the state had their data compromised. This was due to a ransomware attack on the widely used Fortra GoAnywhere file transfer software earlier this year, that NationsBenefits had been using at the time. The company has not revealed the specific data stolen in this incident.

NationsBenefits offers supplementary benefits, including over-the-counter medications, vision and hearing aids, and more to over 20 million health insurance members across America. The total number of affected individuals outside of New Hampshire has not been disclosed.

However, a data breach notice has also been submitted in California, where state law does not require companies to reveal the number of affected residents. Companies must report data breaches when 500 or more residents are impacted in the state.

The company is among the latest of Fortra customers to confirm being impacted by the January breach. US healthcare conglomerate Community Health Systems was the first victim to come forward and one of the most severely impacted, with the hackers alleging they had stolen the data of at least one million patients.

Fortra, the provider of the exploited GoAnywhere system, has been criticized for its inadequate response to the breach, which was only made public when a security journalist posted the company's concealed disclosure online.

Fortra addressed the vulnerability a week later and assured some clients their data was secure, only for them to discover their data had been stolen after receiving ransom demands. NationsBenefits admitted in its statement that "only after we contacted Fortra did they confirm the existence of the vulnerability."

Fortra publicly acknowledged the breach for the first time in a blog post, detailing how the breach occurred, Fortra’s steps going forward, and recommended mitigation actions for customers. However, the company did not disclose the overall number of affected clients.

NationsBenefits has stated that it is complying with all legal and commercial obligations in response to the incident.