Just two days after disclosing publicly that it was “the target of a very sophisticated external cyber attack” in which the personal information of over 80 million customers was compromised, officials of Anthem Inc., the nation’s second largest health insurance company, are to brief staffers of the House Energy and Committee on the security breach.  In a Committee press release, Chairman Fred Upton announced—”Every business is at risk and American consumers are anxious.  That’s why we’re continuing hearings and opening new lines of investigation. . . we’re pursuing legislation to strengthen data security and certainty in the handling of breaches. . . [a]nd that’s why we’re saying enough is enough, we need to tackle head-on these cyberthreats.”  According to a preliminary report, investigators familiar with the probe believe that there is a possible connection to China given the similarity between the tools and techniques used against Anthem and previous cyber attacks linked to China.

This cyber attack comes at a time when there is building momentum, at both the federal and state levels, for executive action and legislative solutions focused on cybersecurity and data breaches.