Equifax Hack: What Went Wrong, Again

Top credit-reporting firm Equifax has been facing criticism for its latest data breach. 143 million people were affected, equating to nearly half of the United States population — making it one of the biggest recorded hacks in history. [Background: Equifax handles a tremendous amount of sensitive data of more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its database includes employee data contributed from more than 7,100 employers, according to its website.]Customers and cybersecurity experts are reproving the company’s response to the attack and overall security measures for the initial exposure.The storm of criticism makes you wonder what really happened that led to such a serious data breach and could your business potentially be the victim of such a malicious attack?

Equifax Hack What Went Wrong, Again - Engyte Blog

The attacks don’t end with Equifax. According to Information Age, three in five companies are expected to be breached in this year.To get a better perspective of this growing trend, The Identity Theft Resource Center saw a record level of data breaches in 2016. Last year, over more than 1,000+ incidents of company breaches was accounted for, a 40 percent increase from 2015. So far this year, companies like Gmail, Verifone, and Arby’s have dealt with massive data loss from breaches. Compromised companies are subjected to financial loss, lawsuits, reputation and reduced customer loyalty. All of which can be fatal to the vitality of your business.In today’s age of ever-changing cybersecurity threats, any business could be compromised at any time. Fortunately, at Egnyte we provide your business with enterprise-level governance and powerful easy-to-use tools that safeguard your data wherever it’s stored. In the case of Equifax, our product could have proved if there was an oversight of data and in-depth insight into who had access to them. Especially with recent developments, the company is being investigated by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance of their security measures to safeguard their customer’s sensitive information. Without the proper protection, the company could be subject to shell out a hefty penalty fee. (Read more on what our Chief Technology Office, Amrit Jassal had to say on the importance of information security for your business.)Egnyte Protect gives companies a simple solution to easily locate and classify sensitive data to protect your employees and customer. Our solutions unifies content by allowing your organization to work effectively on the cloud without boundaries while delivering unbeatable control and access.Click HERE to Request a FREE Egnyte Protect AssessmentSources:

  1. http://www.equifax.com/about-equifax/company-profile
  2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2017/09/08/equifax-data-breach-history/#50ebf82677c0
  3. http://www.information-age.com/10-ways-cyber-security-evolve-face-growing-threats-123466284/
  4. http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
  5. https://www.identityforce.com/blog/2017-data-breaches
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