Experian hack exposes 15 million people's personal information
Summary
“Obviously I am incredibly angry about this data breach and we will institute a thorough review of our relationship with Experian, but right now my top concern and first focus is assisting any and all consumers affected,” wrote T-Mobile’s CEO, John Legere. “Congress has the responsibility to balance the need for facilitating greater information sharing, and thereby enhancing cybersecurity, with important consumer privacy concerns,” an Experian spokesperson wrote last month. “We encourage and support Congress’s effort in striking this balance.” The Experian hack is the most recent in a series of data breaches affecting organizations from the US government’s Office of Personnel Management to Target, often to the tune of tens of millions of users. Private, identifying information is frequently reappropriated by data thieves, who have used it to wreak havoc among people from employees of multinational tech and entertainment company Sony and users of married hook-up site Ashley Madison, in the latter case leading to widespread blackmail. An attack on an Experian subsidiary in 2014 exposed the social security numbers of 200 million Americans and prompted an investigation by at least four states, including Connecticut.