Page 26 - ARUBA BANK

A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 23 July 2019

Equifax to pay up to $700M in data breach settlement

By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL the data might be useful
and KEN SWEET for surreptitious uses be-
NEW YORK (AP) — Equifax yond direct identity fraud.
will pay at least $700 million Settlement payments will
— and potentially much flow through a number of
more — to settle lawsuits complex channels. Equifax
over a 2017 data breach will initially pay $380.5 mil-
that exposed the Social lion into a fund to cover
Security numbers and simi- identity theft resulting from
lar sensitive information of the breach, as well as any
roughly half of the U.S. pop- costs related to credit mon-
ulation. itoring. The company will
The settlement with fed- pay an additional $125 mil-
eral authorities and states , lion if victims’ out-of-pocket
reached Monday, includes expenses deplete the initial
up to $425 million in mon- fund.
etary relief to consumers, Should all 147 million victims
a $100 million civil penal- sign up for credit monitor-
ty, and other offers to the ing services, Equifax could
nearly 150 million people potentially be on the hook
who could have been af- for $2 billion.
fected. It can’t, however, Equifax will offer victims
guarantee safety for indi- of the breach free credit
viduals whose stolen infor- monitoring services for up
mation could circulate on to 10 years, identity-resto-
the internet for decades. ration services for seven
The breach was one of the years, and six Equifax credit
largest ever to threaten This July 21, 2012, file photo shows signage at the corporate headquarters of Equifax Inc., in reports annually for the
Americans’ private infor- Atlanta. Equifax will pay up to $700 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission and others next seven years. That’s on
mation. over a 2017 data breach that exposed Social Security numbers and other private information of top of the free report all
The credit reporting com- nearly 150 million people. credit reporting companies
pany didn’t notice the Associated Press must offer U.S. residents ev-
intruders targeting its da- our commitment to putting price closed at $137.84 out of the data collection ery year.
tabases, who exploited a consumers first and safe- — not far from its price of that lands their personal Victims can also seek up to
known security vulnerability guarding their data.” $141.45, where it was trad- details in corporate data- $125 as a reimbursement
that Equifax hadn’t fixed, Consumer advocates were ing just before the breach bases. for the cost of a credit-
for more than six weeks. generally positive on the was disclosed on Sept. 7, Equifax’s CEO said he has monitoring product of their
The compromised data settlement, but had con- 2017. Business analysts say seen zero evidence the sto- choice. Consumers must
included Social Security cerns about its timescale. the settlement will remove len data has appeared for submit claims for free credit
numbers, birth dates, ad- Claims can only be filed for a cloud of uncertainty over sale on the so-called “dark monitoring or cash reim-
dresses, driver license num- the next four years, but the Equifax’s business. web” and no evidence of bursements. The settlement
bers, credit card numbers thieves stole permanently It also, however, under- an increased identity theft received preliminary ap-
and in some cases, data identifiable information like scores that U.S. consumers because of the breach. proval from a federal judge
from passports. The resulting Social Security numbers are still at the mercy of the The company did not pro- Monday, and claims can
scandal led to the abrupt and birthdates, the data credit-reporting companies vide any evidence to back start processing Tuesday.
dismissal of Equifax’s then- could be used for decades when it comes to protect- up that claim. Equifax will have to spend
CEO and many other ex- to commit identity theft. ing their crucial personal Security experts said there’s at least $1 billion over five
ecutives at the company. “What happens if a con- details. Two years after the really no way to know, es- years to enhance its cy-
“Companies that profit sumer is the victim of ID breach, Equifax, along with pecially in the absence of bersecurity practices and
from personal information theft in the fifth year result- its competitors TransUnion third-party validation. “You will owe a $100 million fine
have an extra responsibil- ing from the breach, which and Experian, remain the cannot determine with cer- to the Consumer Financial
ity to protect and secure costs the consumer tens of primary repositories of the tainty that the information Protection Bureau and tens
that data,” said Federal thousands of dollars?” said data that banks use to will never wind up in the of millions of dollars to states
Trade Commission Chair- Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney make credit decisions. hands of people who are and territories to settle their
man Joe Simons. “Equifax at the National Consumer They face little regulation going to use it,” said Ryan lawsuits.
failed to take basic steps Law Center. and disclose few details Calo, a law professor at the For information on the terms
that may have prevented Shares of Equifax, which about their operations, de- University of Washington. of the settlement, as well
the breach.” plunged 30% following dis- spite promises to tighten se- “It is a lifetime risk expo- as to file a claim, potential
Equifax CEO Mark Begor closure of the breach, have curity and rebuild consum- sure,” said Rich Mogull, victims should go to https://
said in a statement that since made up that drop. er trust. Ordinary people CEO of the security firm www.equifaxbreachsettle-
the settlement “reinforces On Monday, Equifax stock have no easy way to opt Securosis, who added that ment.com .q