New York’s attorney general opened an investigation into the cyberattack against Equifax Inc., as Connecticut and other states also said they’d seek information about the breach that may have compromised the privacy of more than 140 million U.S. consumers.
More than 8 million New Yorkers were affected by the hack, according to Eric Schneiderman’s office, which said in a statement Friday that it sent a letter to the credit-reporting company seeking additional information.
“The Equifax breach has potentially exposed sensitive personal information of nearly everyone with a credit report, and my office intends to get to the bottom of how and why this massive hack occurred,” Schneiderman said.
Equifax didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the wake of the breach, Equifax said it was offering its credit-monitoring service at no charge. Schneiderman took issue with language on Equifax’s website that asked those who signed up for the service waived their right to sue.
“This language is unacceptable and unenforceable. My staff has already contacted @Equifax to demand that they remove it,” Schneiderman wrote on Twitter.
From BNA: Equifax offers free credit reporting -- if customers waive rights to sue
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said separately Friday that he will join with Illinois and Pennsylvania in seeking information from Equifax "as a first step in a formal investigation that will likely expand to include other states."
The hack, which the company says took place in late July, put as many as 143 million consumers -- or half the U.S. population -- at risk. Equifax has said intruders accessed names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s-license numbers, as well as credit-card numbers for about 209,000 consumers. The incident ranks among the largest cybersecurity breaches in history.
To contact the reporter on this story: David McLaughlin in Washington at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Jeffrey D Grocott
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