The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Wednesday, February 11

Smartphone thefts fall after kill switches come in

Law enforcement officials who pushed hard for vendors to make smartphones a less attractive target for theft by adding “kill switch” features are pleased to know the tactic is working. Statistics to be released Wednesday show smartphone thefts, particularly for iPhones, trending down significantly in New York, London and San Francisco.

Anthem hit for failure to communicate

Inadequate security practices let hackers steal personal information on about 80 million customers of Anthem, and now inadequate follow-up with those victims by the health insurer has attorneys general in ten U.S. states demanding immediate action. Anthem said last week it would offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to victims, but since then, the AGs say, it has provided few additional details and no information about how individuals can sign up. They’re demanding that the insurer commit to reimbursing consumers for hack-related losses incurred between the breach and whenever victims get access to credit and identity theft safeguards.

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