SAIC hit with a second class-action suit

Science Applications International Corp. faces a second class-action lawsuit in connection with the Tricare data theft, according to a report in Nextgov.

The new lawsuit aims to seek certification as a class action for all Tricare beneficiaries in California, the news article said.

This lawsuit, filed in California state court in December, is for an unspecified amount and concerns "the loss of personally identifiable and protected health information for the 4.9 million military services members, retirees and their families who received health care" through the military health program in the state of California, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Tricare contractor SAIC was aware of the security breach but withheld information and failed to notify Tricare members.

The original lawsuit was filed in a Texas state court and sought damages in the amount of $4.9 billion for one plaintiff, but was later expanded to include 13 more plaintiffs across the nation.

The breach was announced by Tricare on Sept. 28, 2011 and occurred when computer backup tapes were stolen from a SAIC employee's 2003 Honda Civic parked on a San Antonio, Texas street, the lawsuit stated.

Information on the tapes included members' social security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, diagnoses, treatment information, provider names and locations, clinical notes, lab test results, prescription information and more, according to the complaint.

The company's website states that the breach occurred Sept. 14 and was reported to Tricare officials, who had the company set up a call center, notify those people who's records were stolen and stop credit monitoring for all involved.

Company officials were not available to comment on the lawsuit.

SAIC, of McLean, Va., ranks No. 6 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.