LINCOLN – Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced that Nebraska has joined a $39.5 million settlement with Anthem stemming from a massive 2014 data breach that involved the personal information of 78.8 million Americans. Nebraska will receive $176,991 from the settlement.
In February 2015, Anthem disclosed that cyber attackers had infiltrated its systems beginning in February 2014, using malware installed through a phishing email. The attackers were ultimately able to gain access to names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, healthcare identification numbers, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and employment information for millions of Americans. In Nebraska, 104,795 residents were affected by the breach. In the immediate wake of the breach, Anthem offered an initial two years of credit monitoring to all affected U.S. individuals.
In addition to the payment to the states, Anthem has agreed to a series of provisions designed to strengthen its security practices going forward. Those include:
Joining Nebraska in this settlement were attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
To obtain information about how to protect yourself as a consumer, file a consumer complaint, or report a scam, please visit the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division website at www.protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov or call (800) 727-6432.