Perfect storm leaves millions vulnerable to identity theft

Imagine the following scenario:

We require everyone in the country to buy a product, which requires them to provide all their most sensitive information: Social Security numbers, banking information, salary levels, etc.

Then we allow criminals to have that information.

Surprise: That's basically what came to light last week when Anthem, the nation's second-largest health insurer, announced that hackers had broken into a database with just that kind of information for 80 million people.

Social Security needs to keep track of such information to determine eventual benefits, but now health care companies are required to collect them for the Affordable Care Act as well as other benefits.

Banks and credit cards companies were pretty good at guarding such information -- they knew that money and credit were tempting targets for thieves.

But health care companies tended to be lax with such information compared to others, and many didn't respond quickly enough to demands posed by Obamacare -- the FBI warned them of as much a year ago.

Banks and credit card companies are relatively easy to work with if you have fraudulent charges, but there's no such easy solution if your Social Security number is stolen.

Health care companies at all levels, from major insurance companies to small hospitals and clinics, are going to have to continue to upgrade security of all types.