PSA: Equifax hacked

Joshkaz · September 20, 2017, 1:11pm

Prob not. Prob settle this out of court and a few people will get to see some cash, and equifax will just offer free credit checking for a few months or some dumb shit, and everything will return as per the status quo.

NinetiesArcade · September 20, 2017, 5:23pm

So apparently there was an earlier minor incident on the other division of Equifax and potentially 100k canadian PIIs may have been exposed now.
October 3rd is the Congress hearing; mark yer calendar kids.

Spirit_Juice · September 20, 2017, 9:30pm

Can’t wait to be disappointed when no charges will ever be made.

jopamo · September 21, 2017, 6:09pm

And if you thought this shit couldn’t get any worse…

I’d actually pay money to watch the execs getting roasted over a spit on TV.

NinetiesArcade · September 21, 2017, 7:59pm

Raz0r · September 21, 2017, 8:24pm

We should finally nationalize these credit bureaus. There’s zero reason against it except that few companies lose out on billions of dollars selling our data that we cannot opt out on. Capitalism!

…[G]iven how poorly they operate and how little incentive their business model gives them to improve, their duties should be handed over to public institutions.

In at least 40 other countries — including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain — credit reporting can be done by a public credit registry. It is usually operated by a central bank that already oversees the financial institutions that feed information into the reports. These reports tend to be more accurate because the operators have a legal right to demand data from banks as well as a mandate to ensure it’s correct and that errors are fixed. Data on late payments and defaults are erased once a consumer has settled up.

Many of these public registries leave out things like medical debt, tax information and personal details like marital status, focusing only on loan amounts. Only about 40 percent of registries collect consumers’ addresses, and two-thirds collect taxpayer IDs — the kind of information leaked in the Equifax breach.

The United States government is, of course, not impervious to data breaches, nor does it have a perfect track record of fending them off. In 2015, it announced that hackers had stolen “sensitive information” on 21.5 million people. But the government is at least accountable to public pressure. Equifax never will be, even under the tightest regulation. Credit bureaus have proved to be complete failures at safeguarding the public. Let’s demand we get our data back.

Government already has our financial information. They should just handle any credit inquiries and greatly reduce the scope of their use.

Hecatom · September 21, 2017, 9:27pm

Raz0r:

We should finally nationalize these credit bureaus. There’s zero reason against it except that few companies lose out on billions of dollars selling our data that we cannot opt out on. Capitalism!

…[G]iven how poorly they operate and how little incentive their business model gives them to improve, their duties should be handed over to public institutions.

In at least 40 other countries — including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain — credit reporting can be done by a public credit registry. It is usually operated by a central bank that already oversees the financial institutions that feed information into the reports. These reports tend to be more accurate because the operators have a legal right to demand data from banks as well as a mandate to ensure it’s correct and that errors are fixed. Data on late payments and defaults are erased once a consumer has settled up.

Many of these public registries leave out things like medical debt, tax information and personal details like marital status, focusing only on loan amounts. Only about 40 percent of registries collect consumers’ addresses, and two-thirds collect taxpayer IDs — the kind of information leaked in the Equifax breach.

The United States government is, of course, not impervious to data breaches, nor does it have a perfect track record of fending them off. In 2015, it announced that hackers had stolen “sensitive information” on 21.5 million people. But the government is at least accountable to public pressure. Equifax never will be, even under the tightest regulation. Credit bureaus have proved to be complete failures at safeguarding the public. Let’s demand we get our data back.

Government already has our financial information. They should just handle any credit inquiries and greatly reduce the scope of their use.

It is kind of hillarious to think that the “hellhole” (as some of you would call) where i live, is one of those 40 countries.

Raz0r · September 21, 2017, 9:39pm

The reason we call it a hellhole is because you live there.

Darksakul · September 24, 2017, 1:11am

off topic I know, but it’s proof that being Rich does not keep you out of jail.

Martin Shkreli is now inmate #87850-053

Shkreli is not going to last till January 16 for his sentencing unless he put into solitary.

Don_Barracuda · September 24, 2017, 1:46am

Lesson here is make money but if you’re going to be a dick at least have some people in high places that owe you.

Hawkingbird · September 24, 2017, 2:13am

Did Martin Shkreli at least sell the Wu-Tang album before going to jail?

Darksakul · September 24, 2017, 3:29am

It’s actually in the sales contract that if any member Wu-tang or Bill Murry tries to steal the Album they can legally get away with it without legal repercussion.
So I am hoping there a heist to break into Shkreli’s home.

po_pimpus · September 24, 2017, 6:10am

Would pay money to see a heist involving Bill Murray and the WU… Throw OJ in there for maximum lol.

Missing_Person · September 25, 2017, 7:29am

That’s an Oceans reboot I’d watch.

ShogunZ · September 25, 2017, 8:50am

Aaaaand, my card was compromised. Luckily my bank caught it immediately and it didn’t even come out of my account. Have to wait a week for a new card. Grrr, I will definitely be getting in on the class action suit.

NinetiesArcade · September 25, 2017, 5:39pm

Awesome meng. Another pro-tip if you have online banking: setup alert for any activity using the lowest allowable amount. Yes it’d be annoying getting email/text or whatever whenever you use your card but at least you can tell its you doing the withdrawal or its being drawn from a check you wrote etc.

Darksakul · September 25, 2017, 9:54pm

Shit, make that part of the terms of his parole, your parole is over and any crimes are wipe clean from your record as you receive a full pardon if you help Wu Tang and Bill Murry pull this heist off.

Jion_Wansu · September 25, 2017, 11:33pm

Screw it. Since I’m on that other identity check/watch list because of a government breach, nothing should happen…

Missing_Person · September 26, 2017, 4:33am

Sounds like par for the course with your life.

Bomberman3000 · September 26, 2017, 5:52pm

Fuckers cutting their losses and running!

The chairman and chief executive of Equifax, Richard F. Smith, retired on Tuesday in the aftermath of a major data breach that exposed the personal information of as many as 143 million people, the credit reporting agency said.

Two other top Equifax executives the chief information officer and the chief security officer stepped down on Sept. 14.

Equifax, based in Atlanta, said this month that hackers had exploited an unpatched flaw in its website software to extract names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and other information about millions of people.

The company faced a blistering outcry from lawmakers and the public for failing to protect the sensitive data and for a response that many found lackluster. A website Equifax created to provide information on the breach was initially plagued by problems, and the company struggled to keep up with a deluge of questions from confused and alarmed consumers.

Three Equifax executives, including its chief financial officer, John W. Gamble Jr., sold $1.8 million in company shares in the days after the breach was discovered but before it was publicly disclosed. (Equifax has said the executives were unaware of the breach at the time of their stock sales.)

Mr. Smith, 57, had been the chairman and chief executive of Equifax Inc. since 2005. He joined the company after a 22-year career at General Electric that included top executive positions in the conglomerates insurance, leasing and asset-management divisions.

Before the data breach at Equifax, Mr. Smith was widely admired on Wall Street for developing new products and increasing sales. Equifax had revenue of $3.1 billion last year, up from $1.4 billion the year he took over

Federal authorities, led by the F.B.I., have opened a criminal investigation into the cyberattack on Equifax.

More than 30 state attorneys general have begun investigations into the breach, and federal lawmakers from both parties have requested information from Equifax and called for hearings on what went wrong. The Massachusetts attorney general filed a lawsuit against Equifax on Sept. 19 sept 19 seeking civil damages and other payments. Mr. Smith had agreed to testify next month before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.