• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Jobs
  • Career
    • Cyber Security Training
    • Work from Home
    • Cyber Security Analyst
    • Remote Work – Six Ways to Keep Your Data Safe When Working Remotely
  • Field Guide
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Deals
  • News
AskCyberSecurity.com

AskCyberSecurity.com

Cyber Security News & Information

  • Home
  • Data Privacy
    • Gamers
    • Government Cyber Security
      • Legislation
      • Standards
        • What are the risks of computer security?
        • Medical Cyber Security
    • Social Media
  • Security
    • Data Breaches
    • Scams
    • Malware
  • Software
    • Apps
    • Web Browsers
  • Glossary
    • Cyber Security Acronyms
  • About Ask Cyber Security
    • Authors
    • Contact Us
  • VPN
    • How Do I Know If My VPN is Working?
    • Best Free VPN iPhone
    • Why Use a VPN?
    • NordVPN vs IPVanish
    • Private Internet Access Download
    • Best VPN for Streaming
      • TikTok VPN
    • VPN Porn
    • Computer Security Software – What You Really Need
  • Tutorials
  • ChatGPT
    • Does ChatGPT Save Data?
AskCyber Home » News » Data Breach » Equifax Data Breach – Passports Hacked!

Equifax Data Breach – Passports Hacked!

2018-05-10 by Michelle Dvorak

Equifax Data Breach – Passports Hacked!

The fallout from the great Equifax Data Breach 2017 just keeps getting worse. In a letter to the Senate Banking Committee, the credit bureau giant now admits a few thousand passports were stolen in the data hack. By passports, I mean that images the passports were hacked, not the physical books or cards themselves.

Through an longterm investigation of the data breach, Equifax found that 3,200 passports images were hacked. This does add to the number of people affected, but does increase the amount of information breached.

What is the Equifax Data Breach About?

The Equifax data breach initially involved an amazing 143 million US citizens and thier credit bureau information. One day later Equifax upped the numbers and reported that personal information of 400,000 UK residents had also been breached. A few months later that number was bumped up to 700,000 records hacked. Later in the year additional 2.4 million Americans were added to the list affected, bringing the total to its current total of 147.9 million

Besides the colossal numbers of customers affected, there was quite an issue with discovery and reporting. Hackers stole Social Security numbers, birth dates, and physical addresses. Some driver’s license numbers were also hacked.

The data breach occurred starting about mid-May 2017 and carried on until Equifax discovered the cyber security breach on July 29 of the same year. To make matters worse, Equifax officials did not announce the data breach to the public or regulatory officials until September 2017. Three Equifax Managers sold their stock in the company before the knowledge of the hack was made public. The issues did not stop there. Equifax set up a website so those affected by the breach could sign up for free credit monitoring and protection. Good, right? Except for that part where the credit report checker seemed rather random. This made it difficult to discern if someone had been hacked (or not!)

The New York State Attorney General found that Equifax, without mercy, forced users to agree to terms of service barring anyone who signed up for the free credit protection from ever suing over this incident.

Filed Under: Data Breach Tagged With: Equifax

About Michelle Dvorak

Michelle writes about cyber security, data privacy focusing on social media privacy as well as how to protect your IoT devices. She has worked in internet technology for over 20 years and owns METRONY, LLC. Michelle earned a B.S. in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Michelle published a guide to Cyber Security for Business Travelers


LinkedInTwitterFacebook

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

We Don't Share or Sell Your Info

Web Browsers

Where Are My Saved Passwords in Chrome?

Google Removes 70 Malicious Browser Add-ons from Chrome Web Store

Firefox 75 Reports Your Browser Settings to Mozilla

Categories

Cyber Security Field Guide

Computer Security While TravelingGet Our Cyber Security Field Guide - Available on Amazon!

Recent Posts

Security Marketing Manager – Remote

Sr. Associate, Cybersecurity Architect – Pfizer

Strategic Customer Success Manager – Cybersecurity – Opportunity for Working Remotely

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

ISU Cybersecurity Leader Job Opening

Cyber Security News

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

… [Read More...] about Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

… [Read More...] about Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

… [Read More...] about IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

… [Read More...] about National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

More Cyber Security News

Tags

amazon Android Apple bitcoin China chrome CISA credit card DarkSide DHS DOJ Equifax Europe Facebook facial recognition FBI Firefox FTC games GDPR Google Government hacker identity theft India iPhone Iran IRS LinkedIn Microsoft North Korea PayPal phishing phishing email ransomware REvil Russia smartphone T-Mobile TikTok tutorial VPN WhatsApp WiFi Windows

Government

CBP Looks to Access Airline Passenger Data

FTC Releases Cyber Threat Video Playlist

Malware Found on US Government Funded Phones

UK NCA Reaches Out to Youth to Deter Cybercrimes

More Posts from this Category

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • Authors
  • Newsletter Signup
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Search

Why Use a VPN?

NordVPN vs IPVanish VPN Review

NAVIGATION

  • Data Breaches
  • Data Privacy
  • Gamers
  • Scams
  • Malware

MEMBER NJCCIC

New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell

STAY CONNECTED

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Copyright © 2023 · AskCyberSecurity.com · METRONY, LLC

Go to mobile version