The credit reporting firm Equifax announced a massive cybersecurity breach that likely comprised the personal information of up to 143 million Americans—essentially half of the country, CNN reports.
Hackers gained access to sensitive information such as names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers between mid-May and July, Equifax reports. The breach was discovered on July 29 by the firm. Credit card numbers for 209,000 U.S. customers were comprised, and Canadian and U.K. residents were also impacted by the data breach.
“This is about as bad as it gets,” Pamela Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit research group, told The New York Times. “If you have a credit report, chances are you may be in this breach. The chances are much better than 50 percent.”
READ MORE: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2017/09/08/equifax-breach-threatens-half-country
