May 9, 2019

DOJ charges Chinese citizen with historic Anthem breach

Photo: SOPA Images/Getty Images

The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it indicted Fujie Wang, a 32-year-old Chinese citizen, and an unnamed accomplice with stealing personal information on nearly 80 million Anthem clients.

Why it matters: The data breach revealed in 2015 was a historic event in cybersecurity, as evidenced by Anthem being on the hook for record penalties — a $16 million fine from the Department of Health and Human Services and a class action law suit settled for $115 million.

Details: The Chinese hacker group targeted Anthem and several other companies, according to the indictment, including unidentified communications, technology and materials companies.

The attackers used spearphishing emails to install malware on target computers.

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Erica Pandey

America's funeral homes buckle under the coronavirus

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries in hot spots across America cannot keep up with the staggering death toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The U.S. has seen more than 10,000 deaths from the virus, and at least tens of thousands more lives are projected to be lost. The numbers are creating unprecedented bottlenecks in the funeral industry — and social distancing is changing the way the families say goodbye to their loved ones.

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Jonathan Swan, Margaret Talev

Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

The state of play: By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

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Margaret Talev

Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: The virus hits home

Data: Ipsos/Axios poll; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

The share of Americans who know someone who's tested positive has more than tripled in just a few weeks, to 14%, according to the latest installment of our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

It's still highest in the Northeast, but last week alone it doubled in the South — and it's becoming most pronounced among people who still must leave home to work.

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