This could be the worst security breach ever! “But you always say that!”, some people in our Boston computer service shop tell me. I often say that because they’re getting worse and worse. Also, hackers are getting better at it. Then there is The Equifax breach: Is this the worst one yet?
First of all, the Equifax breach affected 143 million Americans. That’s over 40% of the entire population. Do you think the numbers are bad? Then think about what the breach leaked. We’re talking about names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, emails, drivers licence numbers, passport numbers, every number they need to wreck lives. Also, They provide sensitive banking, credit and insurance information.
Keep in mind Equifax is a credit score company. So think about how much info they have, and how much it can spill. Not only that, it took them over a month to even disclose data losses. Now they did make a website to tell potential victims. But they built it on WordPress. WordPress doesn’t have the best reputation for online security. Even worse, Equifax executives sold 1.8 million dollars worth of stock. So what does that have to do with anything? Lots, because they sold this stock just days after the July 29 discovery of the breach.
What we have here is trouble on two fronts. One is the Equifax breach itself. Then the other is how they handled the breach, or not handle it. It concerns me execs sold stock right after this broke. Are some people trying to cover their hides? Because that’s what it looks like to me. And who is taking advantage of the leaked information? We’re not talking about some stoner in mama’s basement. Could it be an international crime organization? What about terrorist and extremist groups trying to fund their cause? Or, with international tensions the way they are, could it be a foreign enemy? Usually, I would give ways to either prevent or salvage information. But what do I say about this?