MCNA Dental breach exposed nearly 9M people

MCNA, a US-based dental benefits manager, notified millions of clients about a data breach that exposed their government ID’s, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license details.

Attackers roamed MCNA systems for nearly two weeks in late February to early March this year, the company’s breach notification letter shows. The company only noticed unauthorized access on March 6th, even though first access to MCNA’s systems occurred as as early as February 26th.

“MCNA subsequently discovered that certain systems within the network may have been infected with malicious code. Through its investigation, MCNA determined that an unauthorized third party was able to access certain systems and remove copies of some personal information,” the company’s letter said.

Information that the company provided to the Maine Attorney General shows that nearly nine million people have been affected by the data breach. Meanwhile, MCNA’s letter says that current and former clients were exposed.

Attackers got their hands on a trove of sensitive user data such as:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Home address
• Telephone and email
• Social Security number
• Driver’s license number or government ID
• Health insurance information
• Information in dental care

However, MCNA said that “not all data elements were involved for all individuals.”

Cybercriminals can use personal information to commit fraud, from identity theft and phishing attacks to opening new credit accounts, making unauthorized purchases, or obtaining loans under false pretenses.

MCNA said it would provide affected users with credit monitoring services and advised breach victims to “carefully review credit reports” to ensure that all account activity is valid.

MCNA Dental (MCNA Insurance Company and Managed Care of North America, Inc.) claims to serve five million children and adults. The organization provides services to state agencies and managed care organizations for their Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program, and Medicare members.