Officials will probe Premera cyberattack

Insurance commissioners in three states are launching an investigation into the cyberattack on Premera Blue Cross.

Led by Washington-state regulator Mike Kreidler, the probe will seek answers about the intrusion, the Premera’s defenses and response, and the measure of financial damage that took place.

The insurer announced on March 17 that it uncovered a data breach in January. The lag between discovery and disclosure of the breach is expected to be part of the investigation.

The intrusion occurred last May and exposed the sensitive personal information of 11 million customers, including federal workers and Microsoft employees.

The company says there is no evidence that data was removed from the system, and none has appeared on the international black market.

Still, a wide variety of data was available to intruders, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, bank account information and clinical information.

Premera serves customers in Washington state, Alaska and Oregon, and Kreidler will conduct the probe with his counterparts from those states.

The FBI is also investigating the breach.