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Credit Reporting Firm Equifax Announces 'Cybersecurity Incident Impacting Approximately 143 Million US Consumers' (cnbc.com)

Equifax, which supplies credit information and other information services, said Thursday that a cybersecurity incident discovered on July 29 could have potentially affected 143 million consumers in the U.S. "The leaked data includes names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses and potentially drivers licenses," reports CNBC. "209,000 U.S. credit card numbers were also obtained, in addition to 'certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers."

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Richard F. Smith said in a statement: "This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes. We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data, and we are conducting a thorough review of our overall security operations. We also are focused on consumer protection and have developed a comprehensive portfolio of services to support all U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they were impacted by this incident." Equifax is now alerting customers whose information was included in the breach via mail, and is working with state and federal authorities.

UPDATE (9/7/17): According to Bloomberg, "three Equifax senior executives sold shares worth almost $1.8 million" in the days after the company discovered the security breach. Regulatory filings show that three days after the breach was discovered on July 29th, Chief Financial Officer John Gamble sold shares worth $946,374 and Joseph Loughran, president of U.S. information solutions, exercised options to dispose of stock worth $584,099." Meanwhile, "Rodolfo Ploder, president of workforce solutions, sold $250,458 of stock on Aug. 2."

1 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. more Horse shit! by s.petry · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    The issue is that it's a matter of historical perspective. Most people in the US are illegal aliens from the point of view of native Americans who got there first.

    Absolute Rubbish! Instead of believing every damn thing you get told by a politician, try cracking a book. They contain historical facts, not hyperbole to fit an agenda.

    Most people who immigrated came through Ellis Island. They needed to prove that they could support themselves and do so legally, they needed to pass health inspection, and so did their family. They had to be educated in English to at least a degree. There _WAS_NO_WELFARE_ so if a person could not support themselves they went back home anyway! Entering the country illegally at the time was not as big of a concern, because there were no State/Federal benefits handed out to people for any reason..

    Welfare systems were supposed to come with immigration reform to prevent someone from entering the country and taking money from productive citizens tax pool and citizens already in need. Politicians knew they had a guaranteed voting block if they allowed welfare to go to new immigrants, and it didn't take long for them to do so. Which is exactly why immigration has been a hot political issue since I was a kid. (See Milton Friedman from the late 60s onward).

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.