Equifax Fraud Case

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Introduction
Recently, hackers gained access Equifax’s database jeopardized the safety of approximately 143 million Equifax customers given that the hackers copied personal information about the clients. The breach known to be biggest hacking in the United States, took place for months while the company tried to upgrade their security system. The company’s management indicated that the data breach had occurred earlier in May until July 30 before they took action (Symanovich, 2017). Equifax admitted that they were aware that their system was vulnerable but waited to identify suspicious activities before they contacted a cybersecurity firm. However, by the time they contacted Mandiant, a cybersecurity company, it was already too late and the hackers had gained access to the company’s database and …show more content…
Notably, the hackers had gained access to personally identifiable information (PII) including the names, birth dates, addresses, Social security numbers and in some cases, they copied the driver’s license numbers. Even though the criminals have not used the details to carry out any unauthorized activity, it is believed that the customers’ online safety can be at risk given that PII is commonly used in various transactions in the internet. PII are used to recognize users given that the information such as social security numbers, addresses, and driver’s license numbers are unique which indicates the potential online risk that the customers might go through when the hackers decide to use the information (Symanovich, 2017). The criminals can also use the information for identity theft and obtain credit or financial gain without the knowledge of the real person. They can sell the information to other criminals with ill intentions of tracking the customers and harming
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