Here’s an important update on the Equifax data breach that you haven’t heard from the local or national news channels.
There’s now a firm belief among in-the-know security experts that the Equifax breach was likely not a “random opportunistic hacker”, but much more likely a highly skilled and targeted state-sponsored cyber intrusion. Specifically by hackers in China.
The goal was never those 143 million mostly-American citizens affected. We were all simply caught up in the same net. The actual targets were specific high-value corporate and government individuals whose personal identity information might be used to further support additional targeted attacks.
This new information is corroborated by the fact that during the past 4 or so months since the attack, there has not been a noticeable uptick in the amount of personal information showing up for sale on the dark web. That’s an indication that the hacker or hackers have other reasons for grabbing that large amount of personal data.
IMPORTANT: This revelation does not change my initial recommendation at all. Everyone should immediately request a credit freeze on their credit reports. EVERYONE!!!
Be Warned!!! Even though personal information data traffic has not increased yet, it’s only a matter of time before the hacker(s) start releasing the data they have no immediate use for.
Now would be a really good time to consider freezing your credit, if you haven’t already. Credit freezes are one of the most effective ways for consumers to protect themselves against identity theft — and this goes for anyone at any time — regardless of whether you were impacted by this specific breach.
And it’s imperative that you freeze your credit with all three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This action will cost you a few dollars but the value of this protection far outweighs the enormous costs of identity theft mitigation.
Below is a link to a quick reference guide on how to put a freeze in place with each bureau, followed by more information on the process, how to thaw your credit and more.
Credit Freeze on all 3 reporting companies:
http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/
