Two influential members of the U.S. Senate today demanded answers from Equifax on the recent massive data breach that affected 143 million Americans.
The senators want to kmow whether U.S. government agency records were compromised in the huge hack.
They also want to know if three Equifax execs who dumped a bunch of company stock the month before the breach may have known about the big breach before the rest of America did.
Comcast enjoys an effective monopoly over internet service in Vermont and it’s about to get an 11-year extension to its permit to use billions of dollars’ worth of public rights of way in the state, and in return, the state has asked Comcast to roll out at least 550 miles of new cable for “under-served” Vermonters over the 11 years.
The company isn’t having any of it. Despite earning $21 billion/quarter and despite its emphatic belief (backed by aggressive lobbying) that only Comcast – and not states or towns – should be allowed to provide internet access to remote areas, the company has sued the State of Vermont, arguing that being told to provide the internet service it has a near-monopoly on violates its First Amendment rights.
From mid-May to July 2017, Equifax exposed the financial and personal identifying information of 143 million Americans – 44% of the country – to hackers, who made off with credit-card details, Social Security Numbers, sensitive credit history data, driver’s license numbers, birth dates, addresses, and then, in the five weeks between discovering the breach and disclosing it, the company allowed its top execs to sell millions of dollars’ worth of stock in the company, while preparing a risibly defective and ineffective website that provides no useful information to the people whom Equifax has put in grave financial and personal danger through their recklessness.
Equifax is in the business of helping employers and financial institutions punish people for making oversights in their business and financial affairs. Being late with a single payment or missing a single bill can constitute a black mark on your Equifax records that lasts for years or decades, affecting your ability to rent or buy a home or get a job.
This is insane. There needs to be a law that prevents a company like Equifax from doing this. How many millions of affected people, who are worried about Equifax’s failure to protect their information, will go to Equifax to see if they are at risk? How many of those people, who are freaking out about the very real possibility that their identity is at risk of being stolen, will just click past these things, because they want to just know as quickly as possible if they need to take action?
Equifax failed to protect the sensitive information of over half of all adults in America. Now that same company can force victims of its failure to give up their right to sue or participate in a class action, just so those victims can try to find out if they are in trouble or not.
This is wrong, and is yet another reason we need strong consumer protections codified by laws.
If you live anywhere near the forest fires that are decimating the Northwest (or anywhere), please be aware that the animals are fleeing the fires and they may show up in your yards. The forestry department is urging you to bring your animals in at night and let the wild ones pass through. Please put out buckets of water for them. They are scared, exhausted & have lost their homes. They need to refuel. Please feel free to copy and paste
