No security breach for insurance marketplace
Oct 2, 2013, 5:28 PM | Updated: Oct 3, 2013, 6:05 am
When Washington’s new online, health insurance marketplace failed on the first day, some people figured hackers were at work. Not so, say leaders of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange
They decided to shut down the system shortly after it went online Monday, but not because of a hacker.
“There was no one hacking into the system,” said spokesman Michael Marchand. “We did not have any security issues.”
The explanation is that large numbers of customers were navigating the website in unexpected ways, clogging and slowing the system.
“So, if there are too many people trying to get into a specific area at one time, it may create a log-jam there,” said Marchand.
Administrators shut down Washington Health Plan Finder to fix it. He says consumers should not worry about the safety of their information. The marketplace is not designed as a storage bin for personal data.
“There is no medical information or previous conditions or things of that nature,” said Marchand. “That’s not how this site works.”
The Center for Democracy and Technology has been studying the nationwide health care marketplace for security issues. Analyst Christopher Rasmussen says the larger security concern is not the technology, but people.
“Just like anywhere else, with an insurance plan or private or public agency, you can never truly eliminate people who have ill intent,” said Christopher Rasmussen, a policy analyst for the center’s health privacy project. Not to mention people who make mistakes and leave sensitive information lying around.
But Marchand said getting to the data from the outside is harder than ever, nowadays. “Everything’s encrypted on the site and that makes it extremely difficult for any one individual to find out what is actually in that material. It’s not something the average person would be able to pull down and view.”
Analyst Rasmussen echoed what state leaders have been saying about the danger of scams, associated with the health insurance marketplace. “There have been scams reported of people trying to re-direct individuals to a fake website, saying ‘Oh, this is ObamaCare, this is where you have to go.'”
If you can’t remember the web address for the Washington marketplace, you can get there through the official federal website.
If you want to wait until the bugs are worked out, the initial enrollment period lasts until next March 31.
