Incident Details
Equifax's UK arm was fined around $13.6 million for failing to protect the data of millions of British customers in a 2017 hack. The breach exposed personal data such as names, dates of birth, phone numbers, credit card details, and addresses.
Incident
How Did the Breach Happen?
Equifax's UK arm outsourced customer-data processing to its US parent company, which had known weaknesses in its data security systems. Hackers exploited these vulnerabilities to access personal data of approximately 13.8 million UK consumers.
What Data has been Compromised?
The compromised data included names, dates of birth, phone numbers, Equifax membership login details, partially exposed credit card details, and residential addresses of UK consumers.
Why Did the company's Security Measures Fail?
Equifax failed to treat its relationship with its parent company as outsourcing, leading to a lack of oversight in managing and protecting the data sent for processing. Known weaknesses in the parent company's data security systems were not addressed promptly.
What Immediate Impact Did the Breach Have on the company?
The breach resulted in delayed detection of unauthorized access to UK consumer data, inaccurate public statements on the number of affected consumers, mishandling of complaints, and unfair treatment of consumers.
How could this have been prevented?
- Establish clear oversight mechanisms for outsourced data processing
- Regularly assess and address vulnerabilities in data security systems
- Promptly notify affected individuals of data breaches
- Implement fair complaints handling procedures
What have we learned from this data breach?
- The importance of treating outsourced data processing with diligence
- The need for proactive vulnerability management in data security systems
- The significance of transparent communication during and after a data breach
Summary of Coverage
Equifax's UK arm was fined for failing to protect the personal data of millions of British customers in a 2017 data breach that exposed sensitive information. The breach was a result of inadequate oversight, delayed detection, and mishandling of complaints.