{"id":103,"date":"2023-04-18T20:24:23","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T20:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rembrandt.virtuabrands.com\/?p=103"},"modified":"2023-04-18T20:24:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T20:24:23","slug":"banks-and-credit-unions-beware-even-after-the-425-million-equifax-settlement-data-breaches-continue-to-ravage-the-big-three-credit-bureaus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rembrandtai.com\/news\/banks-and-credit-unions-beware-even-after-the-425-million-equifax-settlement-data-breaches-continue-to-ravage-the-big-three-credit-bureaus\/","title":{"rendered":"Banks And Credit Unions Beware: Even After The $425 Million Equifax Settlement, Data Breaches Continue To Ravage The \u201cBig Three\u201d Credit Bureaus"},"content":{"rendered":"
As you may recall, in September of 2017, Equifax announced news of a massive data breach. It was one of the largest, most consequential data breaches in US history.<\/p>\n
The names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates, credit card numbers, driver\u2019s license numbers and other personally identifiable information of over 140 million American consumers was exposed for exploit by cybercriminals.<\/p>\n
As a result of this infamous breach, and the lack of safeguards implemented by Equifax, the company was sued and settled those lawsuits with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 50 US states and territories and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).<\/p>\n
The resulting settlement cost Equifax both $425 million in fines, and a serious loss of consumer trust.<\/p>\n
Now, two of the other \u201cbig three\u201d credit bureaus find themselves on the data breach hot stove as well. But the consequences this time around could be even more devastating.<\/p>\n
For banks and credit unions, however, there\u2019s an easy to implement defense that should be immediately deployed. It\u2019s proven to not only help stave off the financial destruction brought upon by these data breaches, but promises to keep institutional, customer and member accounts far more secure than ever before.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll discuss how banks and CUs can proactively deploy this ironclad and irrefutable defense system in a moment. But first\u2026<\/p>\n
In November of 2022, TransUnion reported a gigantic data breach to the Massachusetts Attorney General. According to the AG report, the PII of roughly 200 million customers was compromised. If correct, this number is far greater even, than the Equifax breach.<\/p>\n
To put its size in perspective, this transgression could have exposed as much as 36% more consumer data than the mega-breach at Equifax. It\u2019s that big.<\/p>\n
Included in the stolen TransUnion PII were names, full social security numbers, financial account numbers and driver\u2019s license information containing mailing addresses. Or, simply put, everything a cybercriminal would need to open illicit synthetic accounts, or to access actual customer accounts.<\/p>\n
As a result, the company now faces a serious class action lawsuit, and if there\u2019s a settlement it has the potential to eclipse the $425 million Equifax fine.<\/p>\n
Now, according to the complaint, TransUnion knew it had serious issues with its data security\u00a0before<\/u><\/em>\u00a0the breach.<\/p>\n \u201cDefendant knew that critical software was required to protect Plaintiff\u2019s and\u00a0Class members\u2019\u00a0personal information\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYet, Defendant {TransUnion} knew that sensitive consumer information uploaded to its proprietary database was susceptible to security risks. Nonetheless, Defendant continued to store, maintain, and transmit extremely sensitive PII using this insecure software,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>the complaint says.<\/p>\n Should TransUnion lose or settle this class action lawsuit, and the fine structure be similar to the Equifax settlement, TransUnion could be looking at well over a half billion dollars in fines.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more\u2026<\/p>\n Experian, the largest of the \u201cbig three\u201d by market capitalization, just had a major issue of its own.<\/p>\n