Equifax

Equifax, one of the three main consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States, announced in September 2017 that its systems had been accessed, exposing sensitive personal information of 148 million Americans. Names, home addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, and driver's license numbers were among the information compromised. Credit card information for about 209,000 customers was also compromised. In terms of scale and severity, the Equifax breach is unprecedented. Other firms have had larger security breaches in the past, but the sensitivity of the personal information possessed by Equifax, as well as the extent of the problem, make this breach unusual.

Chinese Military Charged in Equifax Breach: The US government has charged four members of China's military with hacking Equifax and stealing the personal information of 150 million Americans. They allegedly planned to breach Equifax's computer networks, gain unauthorized access to those computers, and steal sensitive, personally identifiable information from nearly half of all American citizens. EPIC President Marc Rotenberg testified about the Equifax breach before the House in 2018 and the Senate in 2017. Rotenberg warned lawmakers and regulators that the US government's failure to protect Americans' personal data has put them at risk from foreign adversaries. And in the Harvard Business Review, Rotenberg explained that "consumer privacy is not a goal achieved by markets. It must be mandated by Congress."

Date: between May and July 2017

Location: the American credit bureau Equifax