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from the Quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes? dept.
We had three Soylentils send in notice of a major breach at Equifax. The company has a web site specifically for this breach: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/.
Equifax Data Breach Could Affect 143 Million Americans
Equifax, one of the big three US consumer credit reporting agencies, says that criminals exploited a web application vulnerability to gain access to "certain files":
Equifax Inc. today announced a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files. Based on the company's investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. The company has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax's core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.
The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed. As part of its investigation of this application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents. Equifax will work with UK and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps. The company has found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted.
Is there a silver lining to this event?
Also at NYT, Ars Technica, and CNN.
Huge Cyber Theft from Equifax!
"Cyber security expert Morgan Wright weighs in on the Equifax Inc hack, which may have exposed the personal details of potentially more than 143 million people." http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/07/equifax-143m-us-consumers-affected-by-criminal-cyber-security-breach.html
Equifax Hacked - Data Breach of *Basically Everyone's* PII
According to ARS, Consumerist, and others:
Equifax announced today that it discovered “unauthorized access” to their systems — i.e. a data breach — on July 29. 143 million records, basically *everyone* in their database.
That query must have taken a long time to run.
Whoever got into their systems had access from mid-May through the end of July, so about two-and-a-half months.
Equifax says it has “no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases,” but plenty of Equifax systems were accessed, and data purloined. The company adds the standard adage about reporting the incident to law enforcement and working with both independent forensic investigators as well as the relevant authorities to sort out who’s responsible.
What was stolen?
This one is bad. The illicitly accessed data includes:
- Names
- Dates of birth
- Addresses
- Social Security numbers
- Driver’s license numbers
That is, of course, basically the identity theft jackpot. Every account that needs verification that you’re you asks for that exact set of data, so now anyone can be you.
So, all of your PII are belongs to us.
Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3
(Score: 3, Insightful) by cykros on Friday September 08 2017, @11:00PM (1 child)
Not using credit is usually easier said than done. Sure, you might avoid ever having a mortgage by staying in the rental cycle, but then, most landlords will do a credit check and refuse to rent to you if your credit is trashed. Living out of a trailer may be a solution, though isn't without its pitfalls. Unless you're born into money or otherwise have a well-to-do benefactor to help you out while you build up enough of your own (ie, someone who gives you informal credit outside of the banking system), you're stuck either using credit, or at least generally spending a lot more money in the long run than would be necessary if you had (ie, renting for 15 years to save up enough to buy a cheap house outright rather than relying on a mortgage).
Basically, while of course there are ways that a minority of people can slip through the cracks and do things like live off-lease at someone else's rental or with someone who trusts them to pay rent, those cracks simply aren't big enough for the majority of the population to fit through at the same time.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 08 2017, @11:26PM
When I was a kid, it was recognized that a mortgage was probably an unavoidable debt. It was pretty common for people to finance a home, and a car. There really isn't anything else that people should be financing. Today, people purchase lunch on credit, balancing a wallet full of credit cards that are all overdrawn. Somewhere, we've lost our clues.