Sept. 7 (UPI) — Credit reporting company Equifax revealed Thursday that hackers gained access to its data and potentially the personal information of some 143 million U.S. consumers.
The company said it discovered the cybersecurity breach July 29. The unauthorized access took place from mid-May through July.
“The company has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases,” Equifax said.
The vulnerable information includes customers’ names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and for some, driver’s license numbers. Also, the credit card numbers of some 209,000 consumers and other documents for another 182,000 consumers were accessed.
The information of some British and Canadian consumers also was potentially affected.
Equifax said that upon discovering the unauthorized access, it “acted immediately to stop the intrusion.”
“This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard F. Smith. “We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data, and we are conducting a thorough review of our overall security operations. We also are focused on consumer protection and have developed a comprehensive portfolio of services to support all U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they were impacted by this incident.”
