BlueCross Breach Costs $10 million

A 2009 burglary in a Chattanooga office of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee cost the insurer 57 hard drives and, after some lengthy calculations, $10 million in cleaning up the ensuing mess.

After the theft last October, BlueCross BlueShield has spent those millions ensuring that one million customers whose unencrypted personal data were on the stolen computer equipment have adequate fraud protection. A company spokeswoman said none of the affected customers have reported any apparent misuse of the data, but the theft highlights the attendant cost of data theft, the Times Free Press newspaper reported.

Chattanooga police spokeswoman Jerri Weary said the theft remains under investigation. The Associated Press said the thieves broke into a locked computer room at the Eastgate Town Center as the company was moving offices.

BlueCross Blue Shield has concluded its investigation, the spokeswoman said.