Second-Largest Health Insurer in US Reportedly Suffers Major Cyber-Attack

Hackers have broken into the database of Anthem Inc., the second-largest health insurer in the United States, allegedly causing the breach of personal data, including those of the company's employees.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Hackers have broken into the database of Anthem Inc., the second-largest health insurer in the United States, endangering the personal information of about 80 million people, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Anthem said "tens of millions" of records could have been stolen, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, adding that the breach exposed names, addresses and Social Security numbers of the company's customers and employees.

However, according to the health insurer, credit card or bank account numbers appear not to have been accessed during the attack, which occurred last week.

In January, US President Barack Obama announced a new cybersecurity legislative proposal, which encouraged private companies to share cyberthreat information with government agencies to protect them from hacker attacks.

The new cybersecurity proposal came in the wake of a cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, which resulted in the leak of personal data of the company's employees at the end of last year.