Attorney General Ellison Reaches Settlement In Data Breach Affecting 38,000 Minnesotans

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison settled a lawsuit Thursday against Premera Blue Cross, an insurance company allegedly responsible for a May 2015 data breach of more than 38,000 Minnesotans, Ellison's office said.

Minnesota and 29 other states settled the case, and Premera will pay $10 million and follow steps to safeguard customer information going forward. The two-day data breach allegedly happened when a hacker accessed private health information, Social Security numbers, bank account information, names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, member ID numbers and emails.

The Premera network allegedly had multiple known weaknesses, the office said.

Minnesota further alleged that Premera falsely represented sensitive data was safe, as well as how secure their data procedures were, the office said. Premera must now conduct regular data security program audits, hire a chief information security officer, and take several steps to further protect personal information.