The Equifax Data Breach brought a lot of problems, violent reactions, and other major issues affecting more than 143 million US customers. The updates even showed that not only American customers were affected by it. Australians and UK customers are even said to be harmed by this massive cyber hacking.
A vast majority of professionals, leading businesses, and even individuals from different age groups complained about the frustrating things that happened to them. These include identity theft, using their credit cards for massive credit activities, and other sorts of privacy invasion.
Due to this alarming Equifax breach, the company even fired and replaced two lead employees. Whatever efforts the company has done to minimize the damage, the major damage has been done and is hard to forget.
Learning the top three lessons from the Equifax data breach
1. Security versus privacy issues –The Equifax data breach clearly compromised the security and privacy of more than 143 million customers. This could create future recurring threats to the affected consumers with their personal information being exposed to hackers.
According to CNBC, optimizing security levels means setting the highest possible privacy protection for customers whose data are being collected by major companies such as Equifax.
Highly prioritizing privacy yields a more security-conscious culture, avoiding identity theft issues and other related risks. The major lesson we can learn from this Equifax data breach is that security is a great mechanism for protecting every individual’s privacy.
2. The importance of timing – According to some observers of the Equifax breach, notifying customers of the attack was delayed.
Comparing to the European regulations mandate, notifying a breach must be made within a 72-hour timeframe, allowing explanation in case any delay might occur. To ensure privacy protection, companies should have pre-set processes for notifying clients once a breach occurs.
3. Defining the role of the government clearly – Organizations have the responsibility to handle cyber hacking.
However, the government also plays a key part in this process. Establishing a clearer set of rules and responsibilities will greatly help private organizations achieve cybersecurity in the best possible way.
Cybersecurity and privacy protection
Equifax’s chairman and executive chief, Richard F. Smith, even concluded that “cybersecurity risk is a daily fight.” Yet, we should act now, learning from past mistakes as big as the Equifax breach. This must not be ignored by everyone, but instead, actions should be taken for both security and privacy protection.
