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Hackers can't get much from the Obamacare site. Apparently neither can anyone else.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The
Obamacare website's coding errors and security holes have raised
concerns about the kind of information that could be stolen if and when the site
were hacked.
How much was spent on this site? $634 Million... next blog on the $634 Mil.....
The fact is: Not much of any value. Healthcare.gov is not the treasure chest of personal information some make it out to be.
Hijacking the account of Obamacare applicants would
yield their addresses, birth dates and phone numbers. (Until last week,
getting that would have been relatively easy, because of very sloppy coding that left some of the site's communication unencrypted.)
Although that's discomforting, that's where the flow of information
ends. The government isn't actually selling insurance -- private
companies are. So, if you trust private insurers with your data now,
there's no reason to believe that would change because they're selling
insurance to Obamacare applicants.
Put bluntly, you don't have
to worry that hackers can now target a creepy database that stores all
of your health information. It doesn't exist.
Congressional Republicans have also argued that holes in the Obamacare
website could make applicants' information stored on other government
sites more vulnerable to attack.
That's because the newly
created federal services data hub connects the Obamacare exchanges with
databases at the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense,
IRS, Office of Personnel Management, Peace Corps, Social Security
Administration and Veterans Health Administration. The exchanges connect
with the other agencies to verify your identity when you apply for
insurance on Healthcare.gov.
In reality, the data hub isn't a
target because it's not even a physical entity, and it doesn't store
information. It's akin to an old phone switchboard that accepts calls
and reroutes them, Health and Human Services Department officials say.
Security consultants say it's well designed -- and guarded. Breaking in
to the hub would prove a formidable task, because it's under constant
surveillance by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Even
if it is hacked, attackers will find nothing but encrypted messages
leading to locked boxes.
"While Healthcare.gov
has the world's largest target painted on its back with regards to the
quantity and quality of information it can access, the data is largely
secure," said Chester Wisniewski, a senior advisor at security provider.
"Our original plan was canceled. We were recently informed that our
monthly health insurance premiums would increase from $627 to $1,350 in
order to keep similar coverage. The increase is due to both adding a
child and ACA requirements, but our plan without the third child would
be $1,147."
Proffesional business and sales development services on a consulting basis offered by Eric Kuvykin. Sales data, lead management and sales solutions turning products into brands. Eric Kuvykin
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