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
Inside the Privacy Shield Annual Review - Dozens of senior US and EU government officials were joined by officials from data protection authorities in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany and Hungary to discuss whether the...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine New York's new laws expanding consumer protection for data breaches, the D.C. Circuit's two rulings deepening the split regarding standing in data...more
Just recently, Equifax had the largest-ever settlement for a data breach. They are to pay at least $575 million, and potentially as much as $700 million, to settle allegations over its massive 2017 data breach. What we tell...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
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
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
How much does a data breach cost? One independent study estimated that, on average, the cost to an organization of a data breach in the U.S. was $7.35 million in 2017. But recent financial disclosures from Equifax Inc. show...more
On its face, last week’s report that the number of data breaches reported last year to New York’s Attorney General spiked to an all-time high of 1,583 – up 23 percent from 2016 – was not good news....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
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
January 29 was the first day that tax returns could be filed for tax year 2017. The IRS expects approximately 90% of returns this year to be filed electronically, and overall 70% of taxpayers should receive a tax refund,...more
As we near the end of a year that has seen more than its share of massive data breaches, two bills have been introduced (one re-introduced) in the U.S. Senate....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
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
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
It’s difficult to imagine things getting much worse for Equifax Inc. But late yesterday, Equifax disclosed that an additional 2.5 million Americans are potentially affected by the massive breach, bringing the company’s...more
The Equifax data breach has dominated news headlines for weeks, and Equifax will be dealing with the legal and financial fallout from the breach for many years. While many companies may be relieved not to be in Equifax's...more
On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the country’s three primary credit reporting bureaus, announced it had suffered a major cybersecurity breach that could potentially affect half of the U.S. population. According to the...more
On September 7, Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting firms in the U.S., disclosed a data breach that potentially affects 143 million consumers. Equifax’s disclosure indicated that the breach, which Equifax claims...more
The Equifax breach is not the biggest in terms of the number of people affected (the 2016 Yahoo breach compromised data associated with over 500 million user accounts compared to the 143 million people affected by the Equifax...more
Equifax takes no deposits and makes no loans, but New York now says that it, as well as all other consumer reporting agencies, must protect consumer data to the same degree as banks and other financial institutions. On...more
The barrage of bad news for Equifax Inc. keeps getting worse. Here’s a recap of yesterday’s events: ? Mass AG Files Lawsuit – In the first enforcement action filed against Equifax Inc., the Massachusetts Attorney General...more
Yesterday, New York’s top financial regulator asked state-chartered banks and insurers to take immediate precautions to protect consumers and the financial markets “in light of the cybersecurity attack” at Equifax Inc....more