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Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurance provider, was the target of hackers in a vicious cyberattack that exposed the personal data of millions. Sensitive information was obtained by the hackers, which Anthem suggested was an outside attack.

The Wall Street Journal broke the news of the attack Wednesday night (Feb. 4), stating that the unnamed hackers were able to obtain the personal records of around 80 million customers from Anthem’s databases. According to WSJ, this may the largest such data breach reported by a health insurance company.

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Investigators are still determining the extent of the incursion, which was discovered last week, and Anthem said it is likely that “tens of millions” of records were stolen. The health insurer said the breach exposed names, birthdays, addresses and Social Security numbers but doesn’t appear to involve medical information or financial details such as credit-card or bank-account numbers, nor are there signs the data are being sold on the black market.

Anthem oversees Blue Cross Blue Shield plans for California, New York and other states. Authorities who manage the company’s cybersecurity say that the breach was the only such attack ever and aren’t sure how the hackers were able to bypass its security measures.

Photo: Anthem