Anthem, second-largest health insurance company in the United States has just been hacked, leaking the social security numbers, addresses, birthdates, e-mails, phone numbers, and income information of as many as 80 million people — far more than the 4.5 million SSN stolen from Community Health Systems Inc. last summer.
The company hasn’t disclosed the exact number of customer records breached, but it did state that all its subsidiaries were affected, including: Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink, and DeCare. Since its website reads: “with nearly 69 million people served by its affiliated companies including more than 37 million enrolled in its family of health plans, Anthem is one of the nation’s leading health benefits companies,” it’s clear the number of victims affected is in the upward bracket.
According to Anthem’s FAQ, the company is conducting an extensive forensic investigation to determine the full extent of the hacking, explaining: “we are working around the clock to determine how many people have been impacted and will notify all Anthem members who are impacted through a written communication.”
Currently, little to no information is known about who perpetrated the attack, although Anthem President and CEO Joseph R. Swedish admits the incident stemmed from “very sophisticated external cyberattack.” The FAQ suggests that Anthem is working closely with the FBI, and that it’s “doing everything it can to ensure there is no further vulnerability to its database warehouses.”
Affected people will receive a letter in the mail with advising of the next steps to take, as well as a sign-up offer for credit monitoring/identity protection services. Anthem assures its shareholders no financial information or medical records indicating diagnosis or treatment were stolen.
Source: Anthem
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