Anthem Data Breach Includes Info Related to Identity Theft
Yesterday, the Anthem Health Insurance Company, a for-profit managed health care company in the Blue Cross network, announced that they had suffered a major cyber attack. It is estimated that up to eighty million records were stolen. According to Anthem’s president and CEO, John Swedish, “there is no evidence that credit card or medical information, such as claims, test results or diagnostic codes were targeted or compromised.”
However, Swedish admits that the Anthem data breach contained information on Anthem’s current and former members, including “their names, birthdays, medical IDs/social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data.”
TX 4th Congressional District
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Congressman John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies in the U.S. House of Representatives released the following statement today:
The cyber-attack on Anthem Health Insurance reinforces the need for meaningful cybersecurity legislation to increase sharing of cyber threat information between private business and the government. The nature of this breach is especially troubling as it strikes at the heart of an individual’s personal information. This event underscores the need for us to do more to detect and respond to the growing cyber threat. Protecting Americans’ privacy is what compels us to act, because every day, nation-state actors and cyber criminals seek to do us harm.
Anthem has promised to notify all current and former members whose information has been accessed. They also plan to provide, free of charge, credit monitoring and identity protection services for the peace of mind of those affected. Anthem has created a dedicated website, www.AnthemFacts.com, where members can access information, and has established a dedicated toll-free number for both current and former members with questions related to the incident: 877-263-7995.
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