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Fujie Wang, 32, and others including one
individual charged as John Doe, conducted intrusions into Anthem
and three other American businesses, according to the four-count
indictment in federal court in Indianapolis, where Anthem is
based. It did not identify the other companies by name.
The hackers used sophisticated techniques to hack into the
businesses' computer systems and installed malware, then
identified information of interest including personally
identifiable information (PII) and business information.
"The allegations in the indictment unsealed today outline the
activities of a brazen China-based computer hacking group that
committed one of the worst data breaches in history,” said U.S.
Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.
Wang and Doe were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in
relation to computers and identity theft, conspiracy to commit
wire fraud, and intentional damage to a protected computer, the
Justice Department said.
The "extremely sophisticated hacking group" ultimately stole
data concerning nearly 80 million people from Anthem's computer
networks, the Justice Department said in a statement.
The information accessed included names, birthdays, Social
Security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and
employment information, including income data, it said.
In July 2017, Anthem agreed to settle litigation over the breach
for $115 million, which lawyers said would be the largest
settlement ever for a data breach.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Susan Thomas and Peter
Cooney)
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