A major health insurer has delivered a gloomy holiday message to 42,000 city employees, warning that their personal data may have been compromised during a burglary in Massachusetts, The Post has learned.
Group Health Insurance Inc. reported that thieves made off with computer tapes containing the names, Social Security numbers "as well as other data" in a break-in at the office of one of its vendors, Concentra Preferred Systems, on Oct. 26.
"Other businesses within the same building were broken into and a number of items in addition to the lock box [with the computer tapes], including cash and other valuables, were taken," GHI said in its Dec. 15 letter.
"Based upon the items stolen, there is no reason to believe that the computer data was targeted and that this was anything other than a common break-in."
Officials said the stolen computer tapes could be read only on commercial equipment equipped with special software.
Concentra also provided auditing services for Aetna Inc., which said personal data for about 130,000 clients nationwide had been breached.
One city employee said he was furious at GHI for not offering to pay for credit monitoring.
"I'm really somewhat outraged by the whole thing," he said.
GHI spokeswoman Ilene Margolin said it's "highly unlikely" anyone could access the stolen tapes, but city employees with concerns could contact GHI's compliance and privacy officer, Mitchell Goldberg, to obtain added security for their accounts.