Criminals hacked their system by exploiting a vulnerability in a website application to gain access to consumer credit information including;
– Names
– Birth Dates
– Social Security Numbers
– Addresses
– Drivers License Numbers
– Over 209,000 Credit Card Numbers
– Credit Dispute Documents for 182,000 Consumers
According to Equifax, this hack has affected as many as 143 million U.S. consumers. Equifax, is working with Federal and State authorities as well as a leading private security firm on investigating the data breach but, in the meantime they are reaching out and contacting consumers who’s information was compromised via email.
The hack also exposed data of an unknown number of UK and Canadian consumers which makes this a global disaster for Equifax and every consumer affected.
On top of everything, according to the SEC, 3 Equifax executives, including Chief Financial Officer (CFO) John Gamble Jr., sold nearly $2 million in Equifax stock days after the data breach was discovered. The SEC declined to comment on the matter but, criminal charges may be pending.