NYers go after Equifax

8 breach suits filed

More than a dozen New Yorkers have filed eight federal lawsuits against Equifax over its massive data breach.

The 13 victims are seeking class-action status for their claims, filed in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Some 143 million Social Security numbers — representing nearly half of American adults — were hacked, the company has admitted. Around 8 million New Yorkers are believed to be impacted.

In all, 164 federal suits have been filed against Equifax since Sept. 8, the day after the company revealed the data breach. It’s unknown how many of those claims pertain to the controversy.

Atlanta-based Equifax sparked outrage and anxiety after it admitted the sensitive data, which includes credit-card and driver’s license numbers were hacked from its com- puter systems over a twomonth period this past summer.

The company’s affiliates on two other continents have also seen their data compromised.

“This is now an international problem with untold exposure that could impact hundreds of jurisdictions,” said Isaac Boltansky, a Washington-based policy analyst and vice president of Compass Point Research and Trading.

Tens of thousands of Equifax customers in the United Kingdom, Canada and Argentina have been compromised, the company admitted.

Security was so lax in Argentina, according to blogger Brian Krebs, that employees could access the personal data of thousands of Argentine consumers by typing in “admin” as a login and a password.

In New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced a probe of the security breach.