Hackers may have the names and social security numbers of 143 million Americans after a massive breach of credit-reporting agency Equifax, the company said Thursday.
That’s more than half of the nation’s adult population, according to census figures.
Hackers also trawled through birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers, as well as 209,000 credit card numbers, during a massive breach between mid-May and July 29, the company reported.
“I deeply regret this incident and I apologize for every affected consumer and all of our partners” – CEO, Richard Smith
The hackers “exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access,” a company statement said.
Upon discovering the massive breach, Equifax hired a “leading, independent cyber security firm” to review the attack and recommend ways to prevent future attacks, the company said.
Rick Smith, Chairman, and CEO of Equifax Inc., on cyber security incident involving consumer information. Equifax has established a dedicated website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to help consumers determine if their information has been potentially impacted and to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection:
Equifax is offering every U.S. consumer in the country free identity-theft protection and credit-file monitoring through the website www.equifaxsecurity2017.com — regardless whether their information was compromised, Smith said.
(Source: NY Post)