Anthem Data Breach Highlights The Importance Of IT Security Services

Some senior managers are known to cut corners when it comes to investing in IT security services. They should consider what just happened to Anthem, Inc.

That company reported that a hacker stole information about tens of millions of its customers. It’s one of the largest data breaches in recorded corporate history.

The data stolen from the company includes personal identification information such as names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, income data, employment information, and e-mail addresses. As of this writing, Anthem is saying that there is no evidence that customer credit card or medical information was obtained by the hacker.

The database that was hacked contained information about 80 million customers.

The insurance giant says that it will notify customers that their data has been stolen. This includes former customers.

CEO Joseph Swedish wrote a letter to customers informing them that his own information was accessed during the incident. He said that he shares the concern and frustration of those whose data was illegally accessed. He also attempted to reassure customers that his company was “working around the clock” to improve data security.

The company will offer free identity protection and credit monitoring to those who were affected by the breach.

According to Anthem, the data breach was the result of a “very sophisticated external cyber attack.” Law enforcement agencies are attempting to identify the identity of the hacker.

The FBI said that Anthem quickly notified law enforcement once the data breach was discovered.

Anthem is formerly known as Wellpoint. It’s the second-largest health insurance company in the United States.

If you’d like to ensure that your company has proper IT security in place, feel free to contact us. We’re here to help.