Columbia Doctors at Risk For Identity Theft

Nearly 1,000 Columbia University physicians are at risk for identity theft after a security breach in which the insurance carrier, UnitedHealthcare, posted their tax identification numbers online.

The error occurred earlier this month, during the pre-enrollment period for a health plan offered to Columbia employees. When the company uploaded a list of in-network providers, it included the physicians' tax identification numbers, and in some cases, their Social Security numbers.

According to United, the Web site was accessed 157 times.

Yesterday, both Columbia and United said they took immediate action to resolve the breach.