Equifax has disclosed that a major Security Breach has been done on their system. It may have compromised Credit Card information of up to 209,000 American customers. The security breach, which was discovered on July 29, may have given cyber criminals access to sensitive personal information.
Personal information exposed
According to CNN, the sensitive personal information of up to 143 million people in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada were accessed. This information includes names, social security numbers, home addresses, driver’s licenses and birth dates of the credit-reporting company.
Roughly 182,000 American individuals – and the information on their credit report disputes – have also been impacted.
The security breach started in the company’s system as early as mid-May and lasted until it was discovered in July. This development made the Equifax security breach one of the widest and worst data-related hacks that has ever happened to a corporate entity. CNN reported that Equifax chairman and CEO Richard F. Smith said that the security breach is “disappointing.” The company is expected to inform their customers of the issue in the coming days by email.
Customers are advised to contact their financial institutions as soon as possible so that they "can be enrolled in credit file monitoring and identity theft protection services, by submitting their name and the last six digits of their social security number."
Equifax is one of the United States’ biggest credit-reporting entities, tracking data about the financial history of credit card information for consumers.
It gets most of its data from credit card companies, banks, and lenders, which explains why most of its customers probably don't know that the company has their information.
Three executives sell Equifax stocks
The security breach in the company may only be the start of a whirlwind in its ranks. This is after The Week learned that three Equifax executives sold their stocks in the company.
CFO John Gamble, U.S. information services president Joseph Loughran, and workforce solutions president Rodolfo Ploder sold a combined $1.8 million of stock a few days after the massive hack was discovered.
While the company insists that the timing was a coincidence, that has not helped its stock trading after its shares fell 13 percent in extended trading the same night the breach was reported in the media.
