Equifax announced today a “cybersecurity incident” involving consumer information occurred, leading to personal data being leaked for 143 million U.S. customers, back in mid-May through July 2017.
But on top of U.S. data being leaked, Equifax mentions “certain” Canadian and UK residents was also had their personal info accessed:
As part of its investigation of this application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents. Equifax will work with UK and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps. The company has found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted.
Three Equifax managers sold stock before cyber hack was revealed https://t.co/IHHCIOmb8N pic.twitter.com/lKJ6jXDs27
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) September 7, 2017
Here’s what kind of data was accessed: names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers, plus credit card numbers for 209,000 U.S. consumers.
Equifax has setup a website asking for consumers to enter their last name and last 6 digits of their social security number, to “enroll in complimentary identity theft protection and credit file monitoring services.”
Not sure how many people will continue to trust their personal data with the company, though.
It is unknown how many Canadians were affected by this Equifax breach. The company recently partnered with CIBC to offer free credit scores within the latter’s iOS banking app.
[via CNBC]
