Saskatchewan Blue Cross investigating cybersecurity “incident”

Saskatchewan Blue Cross has confirmed the company experienced a cybersecurity “incident” last week.

President and CEO Shelley Vandenberg said she’s unable to determine if the company fell victim to a targeted attack or if any members’ private information was compromised until enlisted cybersecurity experts are able to learn more.

“The process is moving along, but still, we’re at a point where we’re unable to determine with certainty the impact, if any, to members or otherwise sensitive information,” Vandenberg said.

Blue Cross experienced a system outage on April 20 caused by the incident. Key systems and services were pulled once staff noticed the “unusual network activity.”

Services affected by the threat include the company’s phone systems, the member portal and online personal health applications. Customers may use the website or email to contact Blue Cross.

Vandenberg defined the incident as “unusual or unauthorized access or activity.”

“We’re working very closely with cybersecurity experts,” Vandenburg said. “This process does take time. At this time, I can’t give you a firm timeline of all those intricacies and how long this investigation, assessment and restoration process will take.”

Vandenburg said there’s no timeline on when phone lines or the member portal will be back online.

“We do not have all the facts,” she said. “We really sincerely apologize for this uncertainty that’s happening right now.

Saskatchewan Blue Cross has more than 130,000 members, served by roughly 250 employees and a network that includes more than 350 local insurance brokers and consultants, according to the company’s website.