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Equifax Breach Potentially Impacts 143M US Consumers

Hackers got their hands on names, credit card and Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some driver's license numbers.

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

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Credit reporting agency Equifax has been breached.

SecurityWatchThe company today revealed a "cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million US consumers." Credit card numbers for about 209,000 US consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for 182,000 US consumers were accessed.

Hackers also got their hands on names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some driver's license numbers. At this point, there is "no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax's core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases," the company said.

Limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents was also involved in the breach, though Equifax "found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted."

Criminals "exploited a US website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files" between mid-May and July 29, when Equifax uncovered the breach.

"This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes," Chairman and CEO Richard F. Smith said in a statement. "We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data, and we are conducting a thorough review of our overall security operations. We also are focused on consumer protection and have developed a comprehensive portfolio of services to support all U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they were impacted by this incident."

To find out if you've been affected by this breach, Equifax is asking people to visit equifaxsecurity2017.com, where you can enter your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number to see if you were impacted. Though, as many people have pointed out online, this is a tad sketchy. This company was just breached, and now it wants your last name and six digits of your Social Security number?

Those who have entered their information, meanwhile, have reported receiving a generic message about being enrolled in free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection, which Equifax is offering to affected parties. But that message is unclear about whether or not private details have been exposed.

For more, check out PCMag's roundup of the Best Password Managers, as well as Two-Factor Authentication: Who Has It and How to Set It Up.

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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