Equifax set to pay around $700 mn for 2017 data breach: Report
21-July-2019
US-based credit-reporting firm Equifax Inc is reportedly close to reaching an agreement with authorities for a $700 million fine over a 2017 data breach.
Equifax is about to reach an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and most state attorneys general, Sputnik news agency reported on Saturday citing a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The settlement may be announced as soon as Monday, sources familiar with the matter told WSJ. The exact amount of money Equifax will have to pay may change, depending on the number of consumer claims filed.
According to Wall Street Journal sources, the settlement will establish a fund to compensate consumers for harm caused by the breach. A website and a phone line will be created to process claims filed by the victims.
The settlement will also oblige the company to overhaul its security network, a task estimated to cost the company an additional $1.25 billion, the report said.
The 2017 hack exposed nearly 150 million US citizen names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses.
According to the report, hackers were able to rummage undetected through the company's network for months.
Equifax did not report the breach for a period of six weeks after it was initially detected.
The scandal led to the resignation of the company CEO and to a Congressional hearing during which lawmakers grilled executives about the company's handling of consumer data and its inability to report the breach in a timely fashion. IANS
After Six Years of Profitable Bootstrapping, Medulance Raises Rs 25 Crore to Expand Nationally
IIM Grad and First-Generation Entrepreneur Anish Popli's ProcMart Secures Rs 250 Crore in Series B Funding
First Indian Space Tourist Talks Dreams and Inspiration Before Blue Origin Flight
Former MLA Rathod Bapu Rao Switches from BJP to Congress in Telangana
Zerodha Co-Founder Nikhil Kamath Launches 'WTFund' to Support Young Entrepreneurs