Equifax’s Security Fail: Putting Our Data at Risk

Hacking Equifax gave the perpetrators vital information on 143 million Americans (“Equifax hemorrhages 15% as suits snowball,” Business, Sept. 14).

What well-designed computer software system would allow an unauthorized single terminal or personal computer to download or transfer a complete customer database halfway around the world?

Hacking into well-secured mainframe systems and databases is virtually unheard of.

The solutions to prevent hacking are obvious and readily available.

John Piccolo Retired IBM consultant Estero, Fla.

Equifax didn’t sound the alarm until Sept. 7, despite having known of the hack since July.

Three Equifax executives dumped their stock prior to the disclosure to the public. It’s disgusting.

Roughly half the United States and almost the entire workforce was affected. The numbers are just staggering.

While we all rely on the three credit-report- ing giants — Equifax, TransUnion and Experian — for credit reporting, in all likelihood many of those affected by the hack never gave these companies permission to store their sensitive credit data.

Consumers: Be vigilant; be alert; don’t even answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize.

We must face the fact they every one of us is now a slave to the technology age, enjoying the benefits but also vulnerable to the risks.

James Anderson Talladega, Ala.

A spokeswoman for Equifax said the three executives who sold $1.7 million in stock following the discovery of the attack “had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time.”

If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

Was Equifax attempting to pull a cover up by not releasing this information for over a month?

John Lemandri Williamsburg, Va.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren mentioned the legal right of Equifax hack victims to sue, but who would really benefit (“Feeling the heat,” Sept. 9)?

A few million people might get two years of free credit monitoring, and the class-action lawyers will probably wind up with tens of millions, plus expenses.

This happens all the time under the guise of benefiting the consumer.

These class-action lawsuits are nothing but trial-lawyer lotto.

Tom Abarno Staten Island