Question

In case study “ Is the Equifax Hack the Worst Ever – and Why?” Discuss the impact of the Equifax hack.

Answer 1

Criminals can use personal information like this to open bank accounts and lines of credit, like a credit card or mortgage, without the victim's knowledge.

Equifax is one of the three national credit bureaus, along with TransUnion and Experian. The agencies gather information on

individuals to create credit reports, which lenders use to determine the risk of a potential borrower.

The unauthorized access occurred from May through July 2017. The hackers exploited a website application vulnerability to gain

access to the files, according to the company.

It is one of the worst hacks because , the sensitive data of the consumers was leaked.

The most sensitive details were leaked. By Providing full names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and, in some

cases, driver license numbers, it provided

most of the information banks, insurance companies, and other businesses use to confirm consumers are who they claim to be.

The theft, by criminals who exploited a security flaw on the Equifax website, opens the troubling prospect the data is now in the

hands of hostile governments, criminal gangs, or both and will remain so indefinitely.

Response :

Besides the severity and scope of the pilfered data, the Equifax breach also stands out for the way the company has handled

the breach once it was discovered. For one thing, it took the Atlanta-based company more than five weeks to disclose the data

loss. Even worse, according to Bloomberg News, three Equifax executives were permitted to sell more than $1.8 million worth of

stock in the days following the July 29 discovery of the breach. While Equifax officials told the news service the employees

hadn't been informed of the breach at the time of the sale, the transaction at a minimum gives the wrong appearance and

suggests incident responders didn't move fast enough to contain damage in the days after a potentially catastrophic hack came

into focus.