Sidebar

Link: Huge data theft on Equifax - action needed by everyone...

TIDE-HSV

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,609
39,826
437
Huntsville, AL,USA
Jon said:
The best security guy I've ever worked with has a high school degree and 1 semester at the Art Institute, I'd give him a CISO gig anywhere and never sweat it

so the major doesn't really matter

but he also never screwed up even close to this
Click to expand...
I think a lot of us came up in the age where 99.9% of what we know about computers, we learned on our own. I wonder if computers have passed that age and one has to have a solid academic background in the basics. IDK, just speculating out loud...
 
CharminTide

CharminTide

Hall of Fame
Oct 23, 2005
7,319
2,032
187
Did you pay to freeze your own credit? This bill would refund you — and ban the fees

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and a dozen other Democrats introduced a bill on Friday that seeks to end a major frustration for consumers who've sought to protect themselves from the Equifax data breach.

The legislation, named the Freedom from Equifax Exploitation Act, would force credit reporting bureaus such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to allow consumers to freeze and unfreeze their credit for free — banning the agencies from charging consumers for the service... The bill would also require all credit reporting bureaus to refund any fees they charged consumers for freezing their credit in the wake of the Equifax breach, the lawmakers said.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Jon

Jon

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2002
15,644
12,568
282
Atlanta 'Burbs
crimsonaudio said:
I'd bet he's the exception rather than the rule.
Click to expand...
not really, as technical skills go it's all over the place. I know genius English majors and complete morons with CompSci degree's, I've known a good dozen guys who were enlisted service guys/girls with no college. It is becoming more rare which is sad as too many of the wrong people have gotten involved that think college degrees should be a baseline while forgetting that this industry was built by drop-outs
 
4

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,617
13,013
237
Tuscaloosa
Several thoughts here...

First, I tend to agree with where Earle is going, wondering if computing in general, and IT security in particular, have gotten so advanced that you really need formal training. Sure, there will always be the savants who don't need it, but I'd hate to build an ITS function on only those guys.

Kind of like the advances in automotive technology -- years ago, shade tree mechanics could work a day job, and race on weekends. No more...the engines are just so complex, complete with software and electronic interfaces that the shade tree guys could never imagine.

Regarding Equifax's CISO: I promise you, the person responsible for installing the patch isn't within three organizational layers of the C-suite. Equifax wasn't breached because the CISO lacked technical expertise. It was breached because she didn't develop and enforce a culture that treated ITS as the single most important aspect of the business.

The instant a gap was identified, and a solution coded and tested, it should have been installed...no matter how many people might have to work how many hours straight. She didn't have that sort of culture (which, as the CISO, is far more her job than technical expertise), somebody down the line got complacent, as a result they got dope-slapped, and a whole bunch of people got hurt. The CISO lost a seven-figure job, and will wear that scarlet letter the rest of her life.

Finally, freezing credit might not be for everybody, even if it's free.

A number of years ago, Mrs. Basket Case and I had an identity theft scare. Long story short, nothing bad actually happened, but we were badly shaken. So we put a hard freeze on our credit reports at all three agencies. In the 10+/- years since, we've applied for credit of any description only a very few times. So the cost and hassle of unfreezing, monitoring when the desired report was pulled, and slamming the freeze back at the first possible instant, was easily justified by the peace of mind.

But credit reports get pulled for reasons you might not think of as applying for credit: switching insurance carriers, switching phone carriers, and a number of other things most of us don't think of as related to credit cards or loans.

So even if it's free, if you're in the stage of life where you're out buying a lot of tangible and intangible stuff, it could be a real pain to take that level of responsibility for your credit information.

Even if you do that, the agencies still have to have the passwords by which you impose and lift freezes. So that information lives somewhere in the bowels of the credit agencies' information systems, and if it gets breached, you're still screwed.

There are just no guarantees, no matter how conscientious you are.
 
Last edited:
BamaNation

BamaNation

Publisher and Benevolent Dictator
Staff member
Apr 9, 1999
20,522
16,777
432
Silicon Slopes
TideFans.com
Equifax hack - actions you need to take TODAY

Hey everyone -

For those that haven't taken action, you need to do so. Social engineering hacks are already taking place (i.e. spam / phish emails, phone calls, etc). ID thefts are sure to follow.

I setup a https://creditkarma.com account and then froze all credit unions except equifax. (Equifax times out and never completes. ... Clark Howard recommends waiting a couple weeks).

Took about 30 minutes online. CreditKarma monitors TransUnion and Equifax but not Experian, but that should be ok especially since you're freezing everything.
Also need to freeze for kids but that's a bit more complicated and is usually an off-line form mail-in or upload.

Also froze INNOVIS (which i never heard of but it is suggested , as well). Will try equifax again every week until it is frozen.

You need to make sure your Millenial-aged kids do this, as well : http://clark.com/personal-finance-c...-worried-and-how-they-can-protect-themselves/

Sure, it will be an extra pain when applying for mortgages, loans, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. but you can unfreeze online or by phone pretty easily and protects against anyone who doesn't have your pin # from opening any accounts in your name.


Here's some pretty good resources stepping you exactly what to do:





Here are the details where you can submit for a credit freeze (after setting up your creditkarma account) with each of the four Credit Bureaus.
· Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 / 1-800-349-9960
o https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
· Experian: 1-888-397-3742
o https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
· TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872
o https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze2
· Innovis: 1-800-540-250
o https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze


hope this is helpful.
 
Jon

Jon

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2002
15,644
12,568
282
Atlanta 'Burbs
Re: Equifax hack - actions you need to take TODAY

BamaNation said:
Hey everyone -

For those that haven't taken action, you need to do so. Social engineering hacks are already taking place (i.e. spam / phish emails, phone calls, etc). ID thefts are sure to follow.

I setup a https://creditkarma.com account and then froze all credit unions except equifax. (Equifax times out and never completes. ... Clark Howard recommends waiting a couple weeks).

Took about 30 minutes online. CreditKarma monitors TransUnion and Equifax but not Experian, but that should be ok especially since you're freezing everything.
Also need to freeze for kids but that's a bit more complicated and is usually an off-line form mail-in or upload.

Also froze INNOVIS (which i never heard of but it is suggested , as well). Will try equifax again every week until it is frozen.

You need to make sure your Millenial-aged kids do this, as well : http://clark.com/personal-finance-c...-worried-and-how-they-can-protect-themselves/

Sure, it will be an extra pain when applying for mortgages, loans, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. but you can unfreeze online or by phone pretty easily and protects against anyone who doesn't have your pin # from opening any accounts in your name.


Here's some pretty good resources stepping you exactly what to do:





Here are the details where you can submit for a credit freeze (after setting up your creditkarma account) with each of the four Credit Bureaus.
· Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 / 1-800-349-9960
o https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
· Experian: 1-888-397-3742
o https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
· TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872
o https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze2
· Innovis: 1-800-540-250
o https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze


hope this is helpful.
Click to expand...
very helpful but I will add a pro-tip. Do not lose your PIN, especially with Equifax. Wife and I froze our credit years ago then unfroze to buy a car a few months back. The unfreeze process was easy for me with the PINs but my wife lost hers. Transunion and Experian were a breeze to verify who she was based on their knowledge of here and her knowledge of herself, Equifax was a giant pain that was never resolved fully even months later it never unfroze. With PINs no issue. So when they issue you a PIN treat it well and don't lose it
 
DzynKingRTR

DzynKingRTR

TideFans Legend
Dec 17, 2003
42,393
29,693
287
Vinings, ga., usa
Re: Equifax hack - actions you need to take TODAY

Not having any luck. The Transunion site keeps taking me in an endless loop and not directing me to the freezing part. I keep logging in only to be told over and over that I already have an account.

Equifax just keeps telling me there are technical difficulties try again later.
 
TIDE-HSV

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,609
39,826
437
Huntsville, AL,USA
Re: Equifax hack - actions you need to take TODAY

DzynKingRTR said:
Not having any luck. The Transunion site keeps taking me in an endless loop and not directing me to the freezing part. I keep logging in only to be told over and over that I already have an account.

Equifax just keeps telling me there are technical difficulties try again later.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of complaints about Transunion, particularly about their trying to redirect everybody to their credit monitoring service. I guess yours is just another strike against them...
 
Hoot30

Hoot30

All-SEC
Jan 12, 2005
1,284
6
57
50
Nashville, TN
Re: Equifax hack - actions you need to take TODAY

BamaNation said:
Hey everyone -

For those that haven't taken action, you need to do so. Social engineering hacks are already taking place (i.e. spam / phish emails, phone calls, etc). ID thefts are sure to follow.

I setup a https://creditkarma.com account and then froze all credit unions except equifax. (Equifax times out and never completes. ... Clark Howard recommends waiting a couple weeks).

Took about 30 minutes online. CreditKarma monitors TransUnion and Equifax but not Experian, but that should be ok especially since you're freezing everything.
Also need to freeze for kids but that's a bit more complicated and is usually an off-line form mail-in or upload.

Also froze INNOVIS (which i never heard of but it is suggested , as well). Will try equifax again every week until it is frozen.

You need to make sure your Millenial-aged kids do this, as well : http://clark.com/personal-finance-c...-worried-and-how-they-can-protect-themselves/

Sure, it will be an extra pain when applying for mortgages, loans, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. but you can unfreeze online or by phone pretty easily and protects against anyone who doesn't have your pin # from opening any accounts in your name.


Here's some pretty good resources stepping you exactly what to do:





Here are the details where you can submit for a credit freeze (after setting up your creditkarma account) with each of the four Credit Bureaus.
· Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 / 1-800-349-9960
o https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
· Experian: 1-888-397-3742
o https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
· TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872
o https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze2
· Innovis: 1-800-540-250
o https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze


hope this is helpful.
Click to expand...
I was able to freeze with all three this morning with no issues. Equifax was free to freeze, but there was a fee of $7.50 to freeze at Experian. I did not have the same experience with Transunion regarding the redirection to their monitoring service. Thanks for mentioning Innovis. I had forgotten about that one.
 
Last edited:
NationalTitles18

NationalTitles18

TideFans Legend
May 25, 2003
29,863
35,172
362
Mountainous Northern California
Re: Equifax hack - actions you need to take TODAY

Incompetence reigns.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...reach-equifax-directed-customers-to-fake-site

After Massive Data Breach, Equifax Directed Customers To Fake Site


However, on multiple occasions over the span of weeks, the company's official Twitter account responded to customer inquiries by apparently directing them to a fake phishing site called www.securityequifax2017.com.
Luckily, the fake site — blocked or flagged by many Internet browsers, then taken down Wednesday afternoon — was set up by software engineer Nick Sweeting to educate people rather than steal their information. A banner on the top read: "Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information Which Is Totally Fake, Why Did Equifax Use A Domain That's So Easily Impersonated By Phishing Sites?"
Click to expand...
 
MattinBama

MattinBama

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2007
11,144
5,453
187
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/03/equifax-irs-fraud-protection-contract-243419

The IRS will pay Equifax $7.25 million to verify taxpayer identities and help prevent fraud under a no-bid contract issued last week, even as lawmakers lash the embattled company about a massive security breach that exposed personal information of as many as 145.5 million Americans.

A contract award for Equifax's data services was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities database Sept. 30 — the final day of the fiscal year. The credit agency will "verify taxpayer identity" and "assist in ongoing identity verification and validations" at the IRS, according to the award.

The notice describes the contract as a "sole source order," meaning Equifax is the only company deemed capable of providing the service. It says the order was issued to prevent a lapse in identity checks while officials resolve a dispute over a separate contract.
Click to expand...
...........................sigh. Taxpayer money going to help out a company that just screwed over most the taxpayers.
 
DzynKingRTR

DzynKingRTR

TideFans Legend
Dec 17, 2003
42,393
29,693
287
Vinings, ga., usa
I am bringing this to the top because it has been over a year now. I have had a freeze on my credit for over a year. I have not had any credit issues in all this time. I have actually forgotten all the passwords I used to freeze my credit.
 
Elefantman

Elefantman

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2007
5,948
3,901
187
R Can Saw
Same here. No problems with credit, but I have not tried to borrow any money or obtain a new credit card. Try to find your passwords. If you can't better get a head start on unfreezing your credit if you need to. I could take a while without the passwords.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Posts

Latest threads

TideFans.shop - NEW Stuff!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a> <br /> <!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \--> <p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.

Top Bottom