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Last updated on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
(UNDATED) - Anthem, the largest health insurance company in the US, has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit over a 2015 data breach for a record $115 million.
CNN reports that the settlement still has to be approved by US District Court Judge Lucy Koh, who is scheduled to hear the case on August 17 in San Jose, California. And Anthem isn't admitting any wrongdoing or that "any individuals were harmed as a result of the cyberattack."
"Nevertheless, we are pleased to be putting this litigation behind us, and to be providing additional substantial benefits to individuals whose data was or may have been involved in the cyberattack and who will now be members of the settlement class," an Anthem spokeswoman said in a statement confirming the settlement.
Assuming it's approved, it would be the largest data breach settlement in history, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers, who first announced the agreement Friday.
The funds would be used to provide victims of the data breach at least two years of credit monitoring and to reimburse customers for breach-related expenses. The settlement would also guarantee a certain level of funding for "information security to implement or maintain numerous specific changes to its data security systems, including encryption of certain information and archiving sensitive data with strict access controls," the plaintiff attorneys said.
The 2015 breach resulted in the exposure and theft of nearly 80 million records, including client names, dates of birth, physical and email addresses, medical IDs and Social Security numbers. Using a stolen password, hackers were able to break into a database that contained information of former and current customers.
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