Equifax Agrees to Largest Ever Data Breach Settlement

In connection with the massive 2017 Equifax data breach which affected more than 147 million consumers, a global settlement has been reached to resolve a multi-district consumer action as well as a suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission. Equifax, one of the largest consumer reporting agencies, was allegedly aware of a critical security vulnerability in March 2017. However, it failed to address the issue until July 2017, when suspicious traffic was detected. Ultimately, on September 7, 2017, Equifax announced a data breach involving… Continue Reading

Congress Concludes Additional Federal Oversight Needed after Equifax Data Breach

“Equifax…failed to implement an adequate security program to protect this sensitive data…Such a breach was entirely preventable.” So concludes the December 2018 report on “The Equifax Data Breach” by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The cause, according to the report, was Equifax’s “acquisition strategy [to benefit] bottom line and stock price,” which “growth brought increasing complexity to Equifax’s IT systems, and expanded data security risks.” Risks, it seems, Equifax did not manage. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security… Continue Reading