Equifaxhack to affect US, Britain, Canada citizens
Amajor American credit reporting agency entrusted to safeguard personal financial information has said hackers looted its system in a colossal breach that could affect nearly half the US population as well as people in Britain and Canada.
Equifax said on Friday that a hack it learned about on July 29 had the potential to affect 143 million US customers, and involved some data for British and Canadian residents. The Atlantabased company disclosed the breach in a release that did not explain why it waited more than a month to warn those affected about a risk of identity theft. Filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that three highranking Equifax executives sold shares worth almost $1.8 million in the days after the hack was discovered. An Equifax spokesperson told AFPthe executives “had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares.”
Copies of SEC filings regarding the transactions were on an investor relations page at the firm’s website. Equifax collects information about people and businesses around the world and provides credit ratings used for decisions regarding loans and other financial matters. It also touts a service protecting against identity theft.
“The fact that it is a credit company that people pay to be protected from breaches, and now they have been breached...it feels like a betrayal of trust to a point,” said Aires Security chief executive Brian Markus, whose firm specialises in computer network defenses. He considered the breach “gigantic”, made worse by the fact that Equifax stores extensive personal information about people and keeps it up to date. Markus wondered what level of responsibility Equifax is going to take if stolen information is used for fraud or identity theft, and advised people to enlist credit monitoring services to alert them to trouble.
Equifax released a statement saying that it learned of the breach on July 29 and “acted | | | | | | | Turn on fraud alerts in case someone tries to apply for credit in your name Set up security freezes at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to lock your credit files
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sensitive information Do not use the same password across multiple sites Try a password manager like 1Password or LastPass. They create passwords for each website and store them in a database If you must create yourown, try long, complex passwords consisting nonsensical phrases,one-sentence summaries of events If a site offers additional security features, enable them immediately” with the assistance of an independent cybersecurity firm to assess the impact.
Three Equifax senior executives sold shares worth almost $1.8 million in the days after the company discovered a security breach that may have compromised information on about 143 million US consumers. Equifax shares tumbled as much as 18 per cent.