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Equifax data breach fine overview:
- Who: The Financial Conduct Authority fined credit bureau company Equifax more than £11 million.
- Why: The agency claims Equifax failed to manage and monitor the security ofUK customers’ data during a 2017 data breach.
- Where: The Equifax data breach affected millions of consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined credit bureau company Equifax more than £11 million over its alleged role in a 2017 data breach that compromised the personal information of as many as 147.9 million U.S. consumers and 13.8 million UK consumers.
The FCA argues Equifax “failed to manage and monitor the security” of data belonging to its UK consumers outsourced to its U.S.-based company, including names, dates of birth and other personal information.
The agency claims the data breach also exposed UK consumers to financial crime risks.
“The cyberattack and unauthorised access to data was entirely preventable,” the agency says in a statement. “Equifax did not treat its relationship with its parent company as outsourcing.”
Equifax failed to provide sufficient oversight to sent data, FCA says
The FCA accused Equifax of not providing sufficient oversight to data sent to its U.S. parent company.
“There were known weaknesses in Equifax Inc’s data security systems and Equifax failed to take appropriate action in response to protect UK customer data,” the agency says in the statement.
The FCA claims Equifax did not find out about the data breach until six weeks after its U.S. parent company discovered the incident, allegedly only becoming aware of it about five minutes before it was made public.
Equifax, due to its alleged lack of awareness about the data breach, was “unable to cope with complaints it received when the incident was announced” and was delayed in contacting UK consumers, according to the FCA.
“When an FCA-authorised firm becomes aware of a data breach, it is essential it promptly notifies affected individuals in a way which is fair, clear and not misleading and implements fair complaints handling procedures,” the agency says.
Equifax, in response to the fine, says it has cooperated with the FCA during its lengthy investigation into the data breach, Reuters reports.
In March 2022, counsel representing UK consumers asked Britain’s high court to grant class action status for a complaint filed in the wake of the Equifax data breach.
Were you affected by the Equifax data breach? Let us know in the comments.
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