Massive security breach at health insurer Anthem

The second-largest health insurer in the United States, Anthem, has announced that one of its IT systems was hacked. The company admitted the breach several days after it found the problem out.

A company's spokesperson said that "tens of millions" of records were exposed, potentially making it the largest data breach among US health insurers.

The compromised data includes names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and member IDs. Employment information and income levels were also exposed. Fortunately, no credit card information was obtained. The company will contact affected members through the mail.

"Anthem's own associates' personal information - including my own - was accessed during this security breach. We join you in your concern and frustration, and I assure you that we are working around the clock to do everything we can to further secure your data," CEO Joseph Swedish said in a letter to customers.

Formerly known as Wellpoint, Anthem has 37.5 million subscribers, and serves more than 68 million people through its affiliated companies under the brands Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Empire Blue Cross, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink and DeCare.

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