The best way to find out if you have been the victim of identity theft and to determine what accounts may have been opened in your name by criminals is to get a copy of your credit report....more
New York continued its active legislative session last week, this time by expanding its data breach notification law. The SHIELD Act (Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security), signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on July...more
Equifax has agreed to pay $575 million to settle consumer as well as state and federal regulatory claims for its 2017 data breach. This is the largest data breach settlement to date. ...more
Today, the FTC announced that Equifax, Inc. will pay at least $575 million (and potentially up to $700 million) as part of a proposed global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial...more
In 2017, Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, revealed a breach that could have compromised the data of 143 million consumers. This data breach led to a multitude of lawsuits against Equifax, including...more
In the litigation between Equifax and Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Judge Sanders rejected certain provisions of Equifax’s proposed protective order for the production of sensitive discovery materials,...more
On January 10, 2019, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a new law that amends its data breach reporting law, and requires credit reporting agencies such as Equifax to provide a free credit freeze to consumers. The...more
Federal legislation recently took effect that prohibits consumer reporting agencies from charging a fee to place or remove (lift) a security freeze on a consumer credit report in response to a consumer request. ...more
Pursuant to a consent order with eight state financial regulators, Equifax agreed to take corrective actions following its record-breaking 2017 data breach, but avoided paying any fines or penalties....more
Six months after a massive data breach at credit reporting company Equifax, Inc. handed hackers the personal information of nearly 150 million Americans, the fallout continues. Equifax first disclosed in September that...more
Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday at a hearing entitled “The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council” (FSOC), Treasury Secretary Mnuchin indicated that he intends to discuss...more
Equifax announced on September 7, 2017 a massive data breach affecting an estimated 143 million consumers. Richard Cordray, the then Director of the CFPB, shortly thereafter authorized an investigation according to several...more
New York State regulators won’t be letting Equifax, Inc. off-the-hook any time soon for last year’s massive data breach that affected more than 145 million Americans....more
The Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL Panel” or “Panel”) has transferred 97 putative class actions relating to the Equifax data breach to the Northern District of Georgia, where Equifax is headquartered. Judge...more
Most insiders are chalking up last week’s CVS/Aetna news to a recent Amazon push into the pharma world. The Journal breaks down exactly what that means—both for the industry and for Amazon, which faces a series of challenges...more
The fallout from the Equifax data breach continues, reaching other credit reporting companies and all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. What happened - In early September, Equifax disclosed that roughly 145 million...more
The latest large consumer data breach, this time involving Equifax, has also shed a sharp light on an ongoing controversy about consumers’ access to justice. In taking steps to ameliorate its PR crisis, Equifax found itself...more
It was another chaotic week for Equifax Inc., still scrambling to stem the torrent of bad news after its massive data breach last month that has potentially affected more than half of the U.S.’s adult population....more
This week, a high profile plaintiffs’ firm (Edelson) stated that “if done right,” the data breach class actions against Equifax should yield more than $1 billion in cash going directly to more than 143 million consumers...more
In the wake of last month’s historic cyber breach of Equifax, which resulted in the theft of sensitive personal information belonging to over 140 million Americans, states have wasted no time in seeking a greater role in...more
An Assistant Illinois Attorney General, in a letter sent to Experian’s CEO on behalf of the Illinois AG and the AGs of 35 other states and the District of Columbia, has asked Experian not to charge any credit freeze-related...more
Tim Toohey was quoted in Allison Grande’s article that ran in Law360 on October 6, 2017, discussing the Equifax data breach and the congressional hearings in both the Senate and House following the breach. The hearings have...more
A financial index provider foretold the Equifax Inc. data breach more than a year ago, warning that the rating agency “is vulnerable to data theft and security breaches.”...more
It is the dust in end that Equifax created from its statements over the past week and actions which led to the massive data breach in the first place. The former head of the company, Richard Smith, testified before Congress...more
The House Financial Services Committee this morning rounded out a full week of congressional hearings for former Equifax CEO Richard Smith. Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) reiterated his earlier calls for national standards...more