Officials: Nearly 173K Iowans Possibly Hit by Data Breach

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state insurance official says nearly 173,000 Iowans may have been affected by the recent data breach at health insurer Anthem Inc.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart said Thursday that 172,727 policyholders in Iowa may have had their personal information compromised. The cyberattack into a database of more than 80 million people was discovered earlier this month. The health insurance provider says hackers gained access to names, birthdates, email addresses, Social Security numbers and other information of people who are currently covered or previously had coverage.

Gerhart says Anthem will contact each person affected by the breach and inform them of available identity theft services and other protections. He says the Iowa Insurance Division continues to work with Anthem to monitor the situation.