Anthem is being held accountable, to the tune of a record breaking $16,000,000, for cyber attacks that compromised protected health information in the largest health data breach in U.S. history.

The staggering payment, which will be made to the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, is to settle HIPAA violations that results after a series of cyberattacks led to close to 79 million people having their health data stolen. This is the largest settlement related to a data breach, towering over the previous high of $5.5M.

Indianapolis-based Anthem, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is one of the largest healthcare entities and the nation’s second-largest health insurer, providing coverage to one in eight Americans through its health plans, making it a desirable target for hackers the world over.

“Anthem takes the security of its data and the personal information of consumers very seriously,” Anthem said in a statement released on Monday. “We have cooperated with [the government] throughout their review and have now reached a mutually acceptable resolution.”

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