Probe Says Foreign Govt. Likely Behind Anthem Breach

Investigation into "one of the largest cyber hacks of an insurance company's customer data" has revealed with a "significant degree of confidence" that a foreign government is likely behind it, says Infosecurity, quoting a California Department of Insurance (DoI) report. Insurance company Anthem suffered a data breach in 2014 that affected 78.8 million consumer records, including income data and social security numbers but unlikely credit card or medical details.

The DoI, which probed the breach, says the attacker was acting on behalf of a "foreign government." Earlier attempts to find the attacker determined the actors were in China.

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones stated: "The United States government needs to take steps to prevent and hold foreign governments and other foreign actors accountable for cyber-attacks on insurers, much as the president did in response to Russian government-sponsored cyber-hacking in our recent presidential election."

Anthem, which hired cybersecurity firm Mandiant to investigate, has already spent more than $260 million on remedial measures following the breach, including providing credit protection to victims.

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