Hackers steal personal information of millions of Americans in cyberattack on health insurer Anthem

  • 9 years ago
The U.S.’ second-largest health insurance company was hit by one of the largest cyber attacks to date, one that potentially exposed the personal data of tens of millions of customers and employees.

Anthem Health Insurance covers 80 million people across the United States, with its Blue Cross Blue Shield plan alone covering Americans in California, New York and 12 other states.

A systems administrator at Anthem first discovered suspicious activity on January 27 after he noticed a database inquiry he did not initiate. The company then promptly contacted the FBI and has hired the services of Mandiant, a leading cybersecurity firm.

Investigators do not know how many records were stolen, although they estimate the amount to be tens of millions. Anthem’s hacked database includes information such as names, Social Security numbers, birthdates and home addresses. Investigators were able to track the information to an online data storage service and froze the data there. It remains unclear whether the hackers moved the data to another location, although there are no signs that the data has been sold on the black market.

Health companies such as Anthem are ideal targets for cyber attacks. They hold a wealth of data including customers’ personal and medical information. The current breach is the latest in a series of high-profile hacks at major companies including Experian, eBay, Home Depot and Target.

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