US based health insurance company Anthem has been sued by a customer for failing to secure and protect customers’ data, following a cyber attack on the company.
The lawsuit was filed by a California-based woman who is a customer of the company, and is planning to represent all those who were affected by the breach.
The woman has accused the company of violations of California’s unfair competition and data breach laws and seeks compensation for the damage caused by the incident, reported Bloomberg.
The firm earlier this week revealed that it was subjected to a ‘sophisticated external cyber attack’ which exposed names, birthdays, medical IDs/social security numbers, street addresses, and employment information of its customers and employees.
The company claims that the stolen data might not include credit card or medical information, and diagnostic codes.
According to reports, the attack was carried out in a similar scale to that of Target, where data including street and email addresses of customers and important employee data were compromised.
Anthem CEO Joseph R. Swedish said: "Anthem will individually notify current and former members whose information has been accessed."
"We will provide credit monitoring and identity protection services free of charge so that those who have been affected can have peace of mind."
"I want to personally apologise to each of you for what has happened, as I know you expect us to protect your information."
