In 2015, **Anthem Inc.**, a major U.S. health insurer and a hypothetical client under Elliot Golding’s cybersecurity advisory, suffered one of the largest healthcare data breaches in history. Cybercriminals executed a **sophisticated phishing attack**, compromising credentials of multiple employees to infiltrate Anthem’s IT systems. Over **78.8 million records** were exposed, including **names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, healthcare IDs, home addresses, email addresses, and employment details**—both of current and former employees *and* customers.The breach was discovered after an internal database administrator noticed unauthorized queries extracting massive datasets. Forensic investigations revealed the attackers had **exfiltrated data undetected for weeks**, exploiting gaps in multi-factor authentication and segmentation controls. While **no medical records or credit card numbers** were stolen, the sheer volume of **personally identifiable information (PII)** and **protected health information (PHI)** triggered **regulatory scrutiny** under **HIPAA** and state breach laws.Anthem faced **class-action lawsuits**, **federal investigations by OCR (Office for Civil Rights)**, and **state AG enforcement actions**—aligning with Elliot Golding’s expertise in defending clients under such circumstances. The breach eroded **customer trust**, led to **fraudulent activity spikes** (e.g., tax refund fraud using stolen SSNs), and cost Anthem **$115 million in settlements**, including a **record $16M HIPAA fine**. The incident underscored vulnerabilities in **third-party vendor access** and **legacy system protections**, areas Golding’s practice actively addresses.
Source: https://natlawreview.com/author/elliot-golding
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/antheminc
"id": "ant1905619102825",
"linkid": "antheminc",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "10/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': ['Healthcare',
'Finance (GLBA)',
'Retail/E-commerce (PCI-DSS, CCPA)',
'Technology (IoT, data-driven businesses)',
'Substance use disorder treatment (42 CFR '
'Part 2)'],
'type': ['Healthcare organizations',
'Companies handling personal data (e.g., IoT, '
'financial, or consumer data)',
'Entities subject to HIPAA, CCPA, GLBA, '
'COPPA, or other privacy/security '
'regulations']}],
'data_breach': {'personally_identifiable_information': True,
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes protected health '
'information, financial records, and '
'personally identifiable information)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Healthcare data (HIPAA/42 CFR '
'Part 2)',
'Personal data (CCPA, CalOPPA)',
'Financial data (GLBA)',
"Children's data (COPPA)",
'Substance use disorder records',
'Payment card information '
'(PCI-DSS)']},
'impact': {'legal_liabilities': ['HIPAA violations',
'State Attorneys General litigation under '
'state security breach notification laws',
'FTC Act and FTC guidance violations',
'Potential enforcement actions under '
'California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), 42 '
'CFR Part 2, GLBA, COPPA, and other '
'state/federal regulations']},
'initial_access_broker': {'high_value_targets': ['Healthcare records '
'(HIPAA/42 CFR Part 2)',
'Financial data '
'(GLBA/PCI-DSS)',
'Personal data (CCPA)']},
'lessons_learned': ['Proactive risk management (e.g., information governance '
'programs) reduces regulatory exposure.',
'Early regulator engagement can prevent enforcement '
'actions.',
'Compliance with evolving laws (e.g., CCPA, IoT '
'standards) requires forward-looking policies.',
'Breach response plans must be tested and tailored to '
'industry-specific risks (e.g., healthcare vs. financial '
'data).'],
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Develop/compliance-test '
'information governance '
'frameworks.',
'Enhance breach response '
'plans with '
'legal/regulatory input.',
'Implement continuous '
'monitoring for dark web '
'data leaks.',
'Adopt NIST/PCI-DSS '
'controls for technical '
'safeguards.',
'Train employees on privacy '
'laws and incident '
'reporting.'],
'root_causes': ['Inadequate information governance '
'programs',
'Non-compliance with '
'sector-specific regulations '
'(e.g., HIPAA, CCPA)',
'Failure to test breach response '
'plans',
'Lack of proactive regulator '
'engagement',
'Vulnerabilities in data-sharing '
'agreements']},
'recommendations': ['Implement robust data breach response plans with '
'regulator engagement strategies.',
'Adopt privacy-by-design principles for IoT and emerging '
'technologies.',
'Conduct regular audits for compliance with HIPAA, CCPA, '
'GLBA, and other applicable frameworks.',
'Train staff on evolving threats (e.g., initial access '
'brokers, ransomware) and response protocols.',
'Leverage industry standards (NIST, PCI-DSS) to bolster '
'security postures.',
'Monitor dark web for exposed data (e.g., sold records '
'from initial access brokers).'],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': ['Litigation by State Attorneys '
'General',
'Potential FTC enforcement',
'OCR investigations (HIPAA)',
'Class-action lawsuits (implied '
'by breach response context)'],
'regulations_violated': ['HIPAA/HITECH',
'California Consumer '
'Privacy Act (CCPA)',
'42 CFR Part 2',
'FTC Act',
'State breach notification '
'laws (e.g., California '
'Shine the Light, CMIA)',
'GLBA',
'COPPA',
'PCI-DSS',
'Telephone Consumer '
'Protection Act (TCPA)',
'CAN-SPAM'],
'regulatory_notifications': ['Office for Civil '
'Rights (OCR)',
'State Attorneys '
'General',
'FTC (where '
'applicable)',
'Other federal/state '
'regulators as '
'required by law']},
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Notification to affected '
'individuals/regulators',
'Litigation defense (e.g., against '
'State Attorneys General)',
'Regulatory engagement to mitigate '
'penalties'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
'remediation_measures': ['Development and implementation of '
'information governance programs',
'Drafting privacy/security policies',
'Testing data breach response plans',
'Negotiating data agreements',
'Direct engagement with regulators '
'(e.g., OCR, State Attorneys General) '
'to avoid enforcement actions']}}