When Ripples Become Waves: The Equifax Cybersecurity Incident

Since September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of three credit rating agencies in the United States, has been dealing with the fallout from one of the largest (known) data breaches of personal information, putting 143 million Americans at risk from fraud and identity theft (roughly 44% of the U.S. population).

What happened? As described by Equifax on its FAQ, the agency states that it learned of the breach-incident on July 29, 2017, acted to stop the breach, and conducted a forensic review. Its review revealed that the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. According to Equifax, the information that "may have been impacted" includes "names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. Criminals also accessed credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers." The company also identified "unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents."