Best check your life accounts if you’re apart of Anthem Insurance.
The major health insurance and Medicare provider fell prey to a severe cyber attack last week. According to the company’s notification site, an extremely sophisticated cyber attack provided hackers with unauthorized access to the company’s IT systems.
This permitted the attackers to gain personal information on countless current and past Anthem insurance users, including details such as their name, birthdate, street address, email address, employment information, income data, medical IDs and social security number.
Joseph Swedish, president and CEO of Anthem, sent an apology through the notification site, and said both Anthem users and employees, including himself, had their data accessed during the attack.
Anthem’s hotline covering the security breach ensured that while this info had been accessed, no information concerning a user’s credit card or medical details had been stolen.
While this bit of news is a relief, the security breech is still a constant concern for the 5,700 U of L staff and faculty members affiliated with Anthem, as well as the countless students that rely on the insurance provider.
Mark Hebert, director of media relations for the university, stated there had been nothing new from Anthem yet, aside from the notification of a breech in the system.
“We do not know how many of our staff and faculty had their accounts with Anthem breached, and do not know what from those accounts may be out there in the wrong hands.”
Hebert further said Anthem has assured the university that they will get detail them during the ongoing investigation, and will contact those who had their accounts hacked personally by mail in the coming weeks.
“We will continue pressuring Anthem to get information for our university employees.”
Anthem cautions users to not click on any emails with their company’s name on it, as it is a ploy by the attackers to gather more information. Members who may have been impacted should be aware of scam email campaigns and outbound call scams. The emails include a click here link for credit monitoring.
For members that have been affected by the attack, Anthem is providing free repair services, along with credit monitoring. Currently, a full investigation is underway lead by the FBI and Mandiant, a leading cybersecurity firm in the US.
Users are urged to check in on Anthem’s notification site, Anthemfacts.com, or call their hotline at 1-877-263-7995 for continually updated information about the investigation.
Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images
