Earlier this week, health insurer Anthem had around 80 million personal records stolen in a disastrous hack. It does not appear that medical information was hacked, but other valuable personal information like Social Security numbers, names, and addresses of Anthem customers has been compromised.
Investigators are now trying to pinpoint who is behind the massive cyberattack. According to Mike Riley of Bloomberg News, some evidence points to state-sponsored hackers in China.
Why steal this information? Riley points out that the hackers may not even be pursuing medical information, but rather looking for defense and military secrets. Some of the personal information of health insurance customers may contribute to a massive database housing information on key individuals. Once hackers have identified key individuals in sensitive places, they could potentially use the information to hack into personal computer accounts or as blackmail.
Riley says, “This may be just an espionage game.” For more on the ongoing investigation, check out this video from Bloomberg News.
