The federal healthcare exchange created by the Affordable Care Act has had its share of problems; delays, bugs and long wait times have plagued the project since it opened to the public last summer. Now, we can add a more nefarious issue: hackers.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, hackers got into the Healthcare.gov site in July and were able to upload malicious software. The good news, though, is that officials claim the hackers only reached the part of the site used to test code, and did not gain access to any users information.
“Our review indicates that the server did not contain consumer personal information; data was not transmitted outside the agency, and the website was not specifically targeted,” HHS said in a written statement. “We have taken measures to further strengthen security.”
The Journal notes that 5.4 million people have bought healthcare through the federal exchange.
This is, of course, just the latest example of hacking to make its way into the news recently, as the article notes. Retailers including Target (TGT) and Home Depot (HD) have had credit card data stolen, and Apple (AAPL) has been fending off security questions this week following the release of celebrity nude photos taken from the iCloud.
