Friday, June 23, 2017 - Anthem to pay record settlement over data breach

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
Source - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-anthem-cyber-settlement-idUSKBN19E2ML
Where - United States of America
Cost - 115,000,000 USD
Business line - Life Assurance
Copyright © Reuters (www.reuters.com) 2017

America’s largest health insurance company has agreed to pay US$115m to settle litigation linked to a huge data breach in 2015.

Anthem was victim of a cyber attack which resulted in the personal details of 79 million people being compromised. The lawsuit was brought by a group of individuals affected by the breach and has resulted in the largest ever settlement for a case of this kind. The deal is still subject to the approval of a California district judge.

The settlement will be used to cover the cost of two years’ worth of credit monitoring taken out by people impacted by the attack. People who have already paid for credit monitoring can choose to receive a cash payment of up to US$50 instead. It is understood that the victims include not only current and former customers of Anthem, but customers of affiliated firms through the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

“We are very satisfied that the settlement is a great result for those affected and look forward to working through the settlement approval process,” the victims’ lawyer Andrew Friedman said in a statement.

In February 2015, a hacker accessed an Anthem database which contained personal information, including names, birthdays, social security numbers, addresses, email addresses and employment and income information of more than 79 million people. Credit card information and medical records were not compromised in the attack, according to a statement released by the insurer at the time.