Equifax, U.S. consumers alike will struggle to overcome massive hack
WASHINGTON — Cybersecurity experts Friday pilloried the credit reporting giant Equifax for a data breach that could potentially affect 143 million U.S. consumers, a nightmare hack that sharply underscores a new era of information insecurity.
“These millions of victims will be at increased risk of fraud for the rest of their lives,” John Gunn of VASCO Data Security, an Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., firm, said in a statement.
The repercussions of one of the largest cyberattacks to hit the United States continued to ripple. Equifax shares plunged more than 13 percent in value on the New York Stock Exchange, and an underground site offered what it claimed was pilfered information from the Equifax hack.
Consumers who never sought a credit check with Atlanta-based Equifax may not be safe either, experts said.
“Even if you are not a customer, Equifax likely has a lot of data about you,” said Kenneth Geers, senior research scientist at Comodo, a Clifton, N.J., company that authenticates websites and content on the internet.
Equifax said Thursday that hackers were in their networks from around midMay until July 29, and that once detected the breach was halted. The company did not say why it waited six weeks to inform the public of the massive hack. Stolen personal data can be used to commit identity fraud, create counterfeit credit cards, and make fraudulent online purchases or insurance claims, among other crimes.
In addition to the 143 million U.S. consumer records — equivalent to 44 percent of the U.S. population — the company said an unknown number of Canadian and British consumer records were stolen. Data taken included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and, in some cases, driver license numbers. Credit card information on roughly 209,000 U.S. consumers was also stolen.
Outsiders said the company, one of three giants in the credit reporting industry, will struggle to get back on its feet — even as consumers face greater fraud threats from the hack.