Equifax scurries amid chaos after data breach of 143M people
The credit bureau’s chief called the huge leak ‘disappointing’ and said he considers the company ‘a leader in managing and protecting data.’ However, its crisis response suggests otherwise.
Such is the case with Equifax, one of the three largest credit bureaus in the United States.
On Thursday, the company announced that a data breach might have affected 143 million people—nearly two-thirds of the U.S.’s adult population. Hackers also accessed data for residents of Canada and the United Kingdom.
Though Equifax announced the news on Thursday, the company first learned of its data breach more than a month earlier, on July 29. In its press release, it wrote:
Most of the consumer information accessed includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some instances, driver’s license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 consumers and certain dispute documents, which included personal identifying information, for approximately 182,000 consumers were accessed. In addition to this site, Equifax will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents with personal identifying information were impacted. We have found no evidence of unauthorized access to Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.
It also tweeted the news with a link to its press release:
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
