Companies do not care about protecting consumer data and the Equifax breach confirms this. Equifax faced a day of reckoning on Monday. The credit company was fined close to 700 million dollars for their 2017 attack . The hack exposed the data of over 143 million consumers. The breach leaked full names, date of births, SSN, Driver’s license numbers, tax ID and other sensitive information. Sure, the company is being fined and victims are being compensated but does that fix the damage that accompanies leaked data? This sensitive information is exposed indefinitely for any one to misuse or exploit. And exploit they will.
Are Hackers a Myth?
Hacks and breaches have become extremely prevalent. Victims range from companies, to cities, to entire nations! Ironically, the more breaches are revealed, the clearer it becomes that companies have major holes in their security network. (One would think the reverse would occur.) Either companies don’t think hackers are ruthless or they think our data is a joke and don’t care enough to protect it. (I vote for the latter, what about you?)
Every Company Should Care About Security
Companies big and small, must understand that data is valuable. Why else would hackers go after it? Therefore, every company, whether it’s a tech, beauty or car company, needs to have a security plan in place, consumers should be your number one priority and with consumers comes their data. Data that needs protection. This Equifax breach should set off alarms for all companies to reevaluate their security practices. This could mean increasing the security budget, or implementing security awareness training. With the news of Windows 7 end of support, it also means migrating to the latest operating system, and tossing outdated and unprotected hardware. Whatever is needed to reduce the risk of a critical breach.
Consumer data is in fact not a joke and companies need to get serious about security. Hackers are becoming more and more vigilant, companies would be foolish not to follow suit.
What are your thoughts on the Equifax fine? Was your data affected? Do you agree that our consumer data is a joke to many companies? Want to know if you’ve been affected by the Equifax breach? Click here.
