Equifax Research Paper
Equifax commonly known as EFX is one of the three biggest consumer retail credit reporting companies in the world, the remaining two being Experian and Transunion, commonly known as the “Big Three”. Equifax was established in 1890, with its headquarters based in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual revenue income being about 3.14 billion US dollars and about 9500 employees working globally. Aside from offering credit and demographic related data, services to business, Equifax also sells credit monitoring and fraud-prevention services directly to consumers. (Haselton, T. 2017, September 8).
However, the Equifax company has been in news lately mainly of the major cybersecurity breach incident, which lead to exposure of about 143 billion members personal …show more content…
Department of Homeland Security, they identified and discovered a flaw in a tool known as the “apache struts”, by which many large businesses and government organizations including Equifax use it to support its online dispute portal or any log issues with their credit reports. The flaw allowed hackers to take control of the Equifax website. The vulnerability is caused by how Apache Struts deserializes untrusted data. An attacker can use the vulnerability to find the credentials, connect to the database server, and extract all data or even delete the data.( Brewster, T.F. 2017, September …show more content…
A credit freeze will lock consumers credit files so that only companies which already do business with them will have access to them. However your first step should be to establish fraud alerts. This will alert you if someone tries to apply for credit in your name. It’s also wise to set up fraud alerts for credit and debit cards. (Dobrygowski, D. & Bohmayr,W. 2017, September 20).
Regular monitoring of your credit report will help you identify any suspicious activity and because the Equifax breach will have long-term consequences, it’s a good idea to start checking your report as part of your regular financial routines for the next few years. Consumers need to be extra vigilant when they get cold-called or receive emails pertaining to being related to this Equifax security breach. If someone is asking for your personal information, do not give it. Also changing your login details and passwords regularly helps you to increase digital security. (Forno, R. 2017, September
However, the Equifax company has been in news lately mainly of the major cybersecurity breach incident, which lead to exposure of about 143 billion members personal …show more content…
Department of Homeland Security, they identified and discovered a flaw in a tool known as the “apache struts”, by which many large businesses and government organizations including Equifax use it to support its online dispute portal or any log issues with their credit reports. The flaw allowed hackers to take control of the Equifax website. The vulnerability is caused by how Apache Struts deserializes untrusted data. An attacker can use the vulnerability to find the credentials, connect to the database server, and extract all data or even delete the data.( Brewster, T.F. 2017, September …show more content…
A credit freeze will lock consumers credit files so that only companies which already do business with them will have access to them. However your first step should be to establish fraud alerts. This will alert you if someone tries to apply for credit in your name. It’s also wise to set up fraud alerts for credit and debit cards. (Dobrygowski, D. & Bohmayr,W. 2017, September 20).
Regular monitoring of your credit report will help you identify any suspicious activity and because the Equifax breach will have long-term consequences, it’s a good idea to start checking your report as part of your regular financial routines for the next few years. Consumers need to be extra vigilant when they get cold-called or receive emails pertaining to being related to this Equifax security breach. If someone is asking for your personal information, do not give it. Also changing your login details and passwords regularly helps you to increase digital security. (Forno, R. 2017, September