Free Republic

In May credit reporting service Equifax's website was breached by attackers who eventually made off with Social Security numbers, names, and a dizzying amount of other details for some 145.5 million US consumers. For several hours on Wednesday, and again early Thursday morning, the site was maliciously manipulated again, this time to deliver fraudulent Adobe Flash updates, which when clicked, infected visitors' computers with adware that was detected by only three of 65 antivirus providers.

The emails have landed in my inbox, one every other day or so since Equifax revealed that cyberthieves had helped themselves to the Social Security numbers and dates of birth of more than 140 million Americans in the company’s files.**snip**I want out of Equifax’s system. That company no longer has permission to make money off my personal data. I want them to delete my file and never start a new one.**snip**So, can you dump Equifax? And if not, shouldn’t you be able to?

The IRS award of a $7.25 million no-bid contract to Equifax after a hack of the data services company that exposed personal information of as many as 145 million Americans “just doesn’t add up,” according to Sen. Chuck Grassley. “Given recent Equifax breach the IRS needs 2make clear &demonstrate that taxpayer information is safe if doing biz w Equifax,” the Iowa Republican said in a post on Twitter Wednesday morning. “Not only was I surprised, but I was sitting with a senator in Judiciary (Committee) today that was told that by another senator and he said, ‘You got to be...

IRS officials on a scheduled visit to Congress Wednesday bore the brunt of GOP criticism of the agency for Wednesday's revelation that it awarded Equifax a $7.25 million no-bid contract to maintain taxpayers' confidentiality. "This is an abject failure," said Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind. "This is beyond abject failure, it's a management failure."

The Internal Revenue Service will pay Equifax $7.25 million to verify taxpayers' identities and help prevent fraud under a no-bid contract issued last week, according to a report in Politico. The contract comes as lawmakers lash out at the company over the major security breach that exposed personal information of millions of Americans. Politico said the credit agency will "verify taxpayer identity" and "assist in ongoing identity verifications and validations" at the IRS.

Equifax CEO Richard Smith is out after the company's embarrassing data breach and botched response. The credit reporting bureau announced Smith's sudden retirement on Tuesday, three weeks after it disclosed the hack, which compromised the personal information of as many as 143 million Americans. Smith, 57, has been CEO for 12 years.

The official Equifax Twitter account encouraged people to visit a knock-off website that mocks the company's security practices instead of the site the company created to warn of a massive data breach. That recent breach exposed personal details for as many as 143 million US consumers. In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, an Equifax representative using the name Tim wrote: "Hi! For more information about the product and enrollment, please visit: securityequifax2017.com." The message came in response to a question about free credit monitoring Equifax is offering victims. The site is a knock-off of the official Equifax breach notification site,...

Having your identity stolen is no stroll along the beach. Getting your name cleared takes a lot of time and effort and sometimes money. *snip* To prevent your identity from being stolen, or to prevent further identity theft after your identity has already been stolen, you might consider freezing your credit report.

SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS   Hackers broke into the credit-report company Equifax and stole personal data on up to 143 million Americans. Individual actions can help control the damage. And collective action may lead to new safeguards. The Equifax breach, which occurred over 2-1/2 months, compromised personal data, including Social Security numbers. The incursion affects three-quarters of US adults with a credit score. Here’s a concise look at what happened, the variety of steps that consumers can take, and the pressure for new steps to guard credit data. Q: What happened? From mid-May through July, hackers exploited a weakness in the...

A week after Equifax disclosed it suffered a massive data breach that may have compromised sensitive information belonging to 143 million people, the credit reporting agency's chief information officer, David Webb, and chief security officer, Susan Mauldin, are retiring, effective immediately, the company said in a statement Friday evening.

So I've been following the Equafax debacle like most. Now we've learned that 143 million people's identity have been irreversibly compromised thanks to Equafax's nonexistent security. Now most people are worried about their precious credit cards. But the bigger nightmare is your pedigree info. Name, D.O.B, SSN, addresses, etc... This is the potential nightmare info from your IRS activity, work history and even your ability to buy own and carry a gun and vote! Imagine someone, illegal or not gets your info, memorized it and then gets arrested for a felony. Imagine they even plead guilty in court to it,...

Following a security breach that exposed the credit information of 143 million people to hackers, it was revealed that Equifax Chief Information Security Officer Susan Mauldin was a music major in college. Equifax, which is a credit reporting agency, hired Mauldin as their Chief Information Security Officer in 2013. Previously, Mauldin was the Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer at First Data Corporation until 2013. Prior to that, she was also SunTrust Banks’ Group Vice President from 2007 to 2009. How she got any of these positions, or the skillset required for them, is still an open question considering...

Susan Mauldin, whose identity is being scrubbed from the internet, studied music composition When Congress hauls in Equifax CEO Richard Smith to grill him, it can start by asking why he put someone with degrees in music in charge of the company’s data security. They might also ask him if anyone at the company has been involved in efforts to cover up Susan Mauldin’s lack of educational qualifications since the data breach became public. And late Friday Equifax said both Mauldin and the company’s chief information officer have retired effective immediately. Susan Mauldin’s LinkedIn page was made private and her...

When Congress hauls in Equifax CEO Richard Smith to grill him, it can start by asking why he put someone with degrees in music in charge of the company’s data security. And then they might also ask him if anyone at the company has been involved in efforts to cover up Susan Mauldin’s lack of educational qualifications since the data breach became public. It would be fascinating to hear Smith try to explain both of those extraordinary items. If those events don’t put the final nails in his professional coffin, accountability in the U.S. is officially dead. Equifax “Chief Security...

Credit Karma said it will add Equifax to its credit monitoring service as part of its free product, which proactively notifies members of significant changes to their credit report. It includes a whole suite of notifications for significant changes in credit queries, such as opening new accounts, a change in the status of an account, new personal information or a hard inquiry or application for credit. You'll probably find most of this in some other credit monitoring services, but Credit Karma is now looking to offer it for free as it looks to create a more simple tool for consumers...

A lesson from the Equifax data breach – in the cyber security realm, we look at networks as falling into two categories: those that have been breached, and those that are going to get breached. It is clear for all Americans to see now, that the same is true of personal information, too. Either your personal information has been leaked, or it is going to get leaked. Whether its Target, OPM (Office of Personnel Management), or Equifax – neither the government or corporations can protect individual privacy — at least not with the existing American system built upon the stone-aged...

You may have never used Equifax yourself -- or even heard of it -- but the credit reporting agency could still have a treasure trove of your personal information. Equifax said Thursday that 143 million people could be affected by a recent data breach in which cybercriminals stole information including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and the numbers of some driver's licenses. Additionally, credit card numbers for about 209,000 people were exposed, as was "personal identifying information" on roughly 182,000 customers involved in credit report disputes. Equifax is one of three nationwide credit-reporting companies that track and rate...

Where Are The Damned Handcuffs? It's time to start locking people up and destroying businesses with federal criminal indictments. The Internet has made many things very easy -- and fast. But it has also made many things quite-insecure, especially when corners are cut. I can design and implement extremely secure internet-connected data facilities and services. I not only have done so they're in active use right now. Some are more-important than others, but all are important to me. Among other things my home is connected via same, never mind the work product I've developed for the last, oh, 30ish years...

Credit reporting agency Equifax reported a massive security breach on Thursday. The breach may have exposed Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and other important personal information that has left 143 million US consumers vulnerable to ID theft. Equifax immediately offered a complimentary ID-theft monitoring program called TrustedID. However, blowback ensued quickly on Friday as the TrustedID terms of service require users to waive their right to sue or join a class action lawsuit to receive the monitoring. An Equifax spokesperson said the waiver “applies to the free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection products, and not the cybersecurity...

To determine if your personal information may have been impacted by this incident, please follow the below steps: Click on the below link, “Check Potential Impact,” and provide your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number. Based on that information, you will receive a message indicating whether your personal information may have been impacted by this incident. Regardless of whether your information may have been impacted, we will provide you the option to enroll in TrustedID Premier. You will receive an enrollment date. You should return to this site and follow the “How do I...