Blue Shield of California (Blue California), an established insurance entity and member of the Blue Shield Association, faced a concerning data breach involving one of its vendors, Medical Eye Services, Inc. (MESVision). The breach, disclosed through Blue California’s filing with the Attorney General of Montana on November 17, 2023, resulted in unauthorized access to sensitive consumer information.
The incident, originating from a data breach at MESVision, Blue California’s third-party vendor managing vision benefits for several of its members, was identified on August 23, 2023. Following the discovery, MESVision promptly took its MOVEit server offline, alerted the FBI, and engaged external cybersecurity experts to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
MESVision’s investigation revealed that an unauthorized entity accessed and extracted information from its MOVEit server on May 28, 2023, and May 31, 2023. Subsequently, MESVision undertook a meticulous review of compromised files to ascertain the extent of leaked information and identify affected consumers. On September 1, 2023, MESVision reported the breach to Blue Shield of California.
Blue California, cognizant of the breach’s impact on its customers, initiated the dissemination of data breach notification letters on November 17, 2023. While specific details regarding the compromised data types were not publicly disclosed, individualized breach letters were dispatched to affected individuals, providing specifics about the compromised information pertinent to them.
Crucially, the breach solely affected MESVision’s MOVEit server, and no computer systems belonging to Blue Shield of California were compromised in this incident.
Blue Shield of California, founded in 1939 as California Physicians’ Service, operates as a distinguished insurance provider within California. With a substantial membership of 4.5 million and a network encompassing over 65,000 physicians, Blue California’s headquarters are situated in Oakland, California. The company boasts a workforce exceeding 7,800 individuals and generates an estimated annual revenue of approximately $23 billion.
