Breach filing
ArchivedAetna Inc.: 11,887 individuals, Aug 2017.
Aetna Inc. reported a breach of unsecured protected health information to the HHS Office for Civil Rights on 29 August 2017. The filing records the organisation as a health plan in Connecticut and lists 11,887 individuals affected, which makes it the 43rd largest of the 144 Connecticut filings on the register and the 73rd largest of the 358 filings submitted nationally in 2017. Among the 7 Connecticut filings made in 2017 it ranks 1st.
Individuals affected
11,887
As reported to HHS
Modelled cost (IBM 2025)
$1.90M
Method shown, not disclosed
Rank in CT
43rd
of 144 Connecticut filings
Rank in 2017
73rd
of 358 filings nationally
Section F.1 / The filing
As posted by HHS OCR
Every value below is the portal's own field for this filing, plus its rank within the register.
- Covered entity type
- Health Plan
- Individuals affected
- 11,887
- Breach submission date
- 29 August 2017
- Submission year
- 2017
- Type of breach
- Unauthorized Access/Disclosure
- Location of breached information
- Paper/Films
- Business associate present
- Yes
- State
- Connecticut (CT)
- Portal status
- listed in the HHS OCR breach portal archive
- Rank in Connecticut by size
- 43rd of 144
- Rank in 2017 nationally
- 73rd of 358
- Connecticut median filing
- 5,000 individuals
- Register id (derived)
- CT-20170829-aetna
Section F.2 / In context
Where this filing sits in Connecticut and in 2017
OCR classifies the incident as unauthorized access or disclosure, with the breached information held in paper records or films. Unauthorized Access/Disclosure is the type recorded on 34 of the 144 Connecticut filings (24%) and on 35% of all filings submitted in 2017. Paper/Films appears on 12% of Connecticut filings.
A business associate is recorded as present on the filing, as it is on 35% of Connecticut filings. At 11,887 individuals the breach is 2.4 times the Connecticut median filing of 5,000 and 3.0 times the national median of 4,000 across all 7,884 filings. It sits in the 10,000 to 99,999 band, which holds 1,938 filings.
As of 28 August 2026 the case is listed in the HHS OCR breach portal archive. OCR's closing summary of the case is reproduced in full below.
Connecticut's breach notification statute (Conn. Gen. Stat. 36a-701b) requires notice to affected residents without unreasonable delay, no later than 60 days after discovery. Its attorney general threshold: all breaches (no minimum resident threshold). The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule ran alongside it: notice to affected individuals and to HHS without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 days after discovery, which is the clock that put this filing on the portal.
Multiplying 11,887 individuals by IBM's $160 customer-PII cost per record (Cost of a Data Breach 2025, the figure the site's calculator uses) gives a modelled $1.90M; the 2026 edition's $192 gives $2.28M. Both are modelled estimates with the method shown, not costs disclosed by Aetna Inc.. For scale, IBM's 2026 average cost of a healthcare breach is $6.64M, so this filing models at 0.3 times the sector average.
Section F.3 / OCR closing summary
The portal's archived description, in full
Written by the Office for Civil Rights when the case was closed and reproduced verbatim from the HHS export.
Aetna Life Insurance Company and the affiliated covered entity (Aetna) has agreed to pay $1,000,000 to OCR and to adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Aetna is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer-directed health insurance and related services.
In June 2017, Aetna submitted a breach report to OCR stating that on April 27, 2017, Aetna discovered that two web services used to display plan-related documents to health plan members allowed documents to be accessible without login credentials and subsequently indexed by various internet search engines. Aetna reported that 5,002 individuals were affected by this breach, and the protected health information (PHI) disclosed included names, insurance identification numbers, claim payment amounts, procedures service codes, and dates of service.
In August 2017, Aetna submitted a breach report to OCR stating that on July 28, 2017, benefit notices were mailed to members using window envelopes. Shortly after the mailing, Aetna received complaints from members that the words "HIV medication" could be seen through the envelope's window below the member's name and address. Aetna reported that 11,887 individuals were affected by this impermissible disclosure.
In November 2017, Aetna submitted a breach report to OCR stating that on September 25, 2017, a research study mailing sent to Aetna plan members contained the name and logo of the atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) research study in which they were participating, on the envelope. Aetna reported that 1,600 individuals were affected by this impermissible disclosure.
OCR's investigation revealed that in addition to the impermissible disclosures, Aetna failed to perform periodic technical and nontechnical evaluations of operational changes affecting the security of their electronic PHI (ePHI); implement procedures to verify the identity of persons or entities seeking access to ePHI; limit PHI disclosures to the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose of the use or disclosure; and have in place appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the privacy of PHI.
Section F.5 / Modelled cost
11,887 individuals through IBM's per-record figures
Modelled cost / method shown, not a disclosed cost
ModelledIBM 2025 customer PII, $160 per record
$1.90M
11,887 x $160
IBM 2026 customer PII, $192 per record
$2.28M
11,887 x $192
Method: individuals affected, as reported by Aetna Inc. to HHS, multiplied by IBM's customer-PII cost per record (Cost of a Data Breach 2025 Figure 6 and the 2026 edition). No cost has been disclosed by the entity for this filing; the figure is a planning estimate, not a fact about the breach. IBM's per-record figures come from mid-volume breaches and IBM cautions against applying them to breaches involving millions of records; the site's per-record page explains where the multiplication holds and where it breaks down.
Context: IBM's average cost of a healthcare breach is $6.64M in the 2026 report ($7.42M in 2025); the global average across all sectors was $4.44M in 2025.
Cost per record: method and limits / Healthcare breach cost, IBM 2026
Section F.6 / Notification clock
Connecticut statute and the HIPAA rule
State notification statute
Connecticut: Conn. Gen. Stat. 36a-701b
- Notice to individuals
- Without unreasonable delay, no later than 60 days after discovery
- Attorney general threshold
- All breaches (no minimum resident threshold) (No later than the time notice is provided to affected residents)
- Private right of action
- No: Non-compliance is an unfair trade practice; only the AG enforces
- Penalty
- Up to $5,000 per willful violation under CUTPA, plus injunctive relief and restitution
The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule runs alongside the state statute: notice to affected individuals and to HHS without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 days after discovery.
Section F.7 / Peer filings
Connecticut filings closest in size
Neighbours by size rank among Connecticut filings in 2017, topped up from other years where 2017 has too few. Filings of 10,000 or more link to their own page.
| Covered entity | Type | Individuals | Submitted | Breach type | Location | BA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Centers, Inc. | Healthcare Provider | 12,142 | 31 Mar 2025 | |||
| VNA of Southeastern Ct. | Healthcare Provider | 12,000 | 11 Nov 2010 | |||
| Aetna | Business Associate | 10,888 | 27 Feb 2026 | |||
| Southwest Community Health Center | Healthcare Provider | 6,000 | 7 Jun 2017 | |||
| Aetna Inc. | Health Plan | 5,002 | 20 Jun 2017 |
Index / Companion schedules
13 HHS breach register
→Hub: every filing, by state, year and entity.
04 Biggest breaches
→Mega-breaches with primary-source cost figures.
Industry / Healthcare
→IBM 2026: $6.64M average, 13 years at #1.
Regulation / HIPAA penalties
→OCR enforcement tiers and the 60-day rule.
11 50-state laws
→Deadline, AG threshold and penalties per state.
Cost / Per record
→Where the per-record model is reliable.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, Breach Portal (breaches affecting 500 or more individuals), retrieved 2026-08-28. Public domain. Individuals affected and dates as reported by the covered entity.
Portal: ocrportal.hhs.gov breach report. Statutory basis: HITECH Act section 13402(e)(4): the Secretary must post a list of breaches of unsecured protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals. Breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals are reported to OCR annually and are not posted, so they are not on this register. Status wording follows the portal's two tabs ("Cases Currently Under Investigation" and "Archive") as of 28 August 2026; a filing moves to the archive when OCR closes the case. Modelled costs on this site are a method applied to the reported count, using IBM Cost of a Data Breach per-record figures, and are never a cost disclosed by the entity. This row: hhs-breach-archive__2026-08-28.csv, export row 5125.
Corrections: if you represent a listed entity and the portal row has been amended, email [email protected] with the portal entry and we will re-pull the export.