The CFPB is all over the Equifax issue in what could be Richard Cordray’s swansong before he retire and runs for Governor of Ohio. In reaction to massive Equifax breach, Cordray says on CNBC that companies can no longer self-police and expect their solutions to be an acceptable response to a data mishap.
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Fallout continues from the Equifax scandal, in which up to 143 million Americans — about 43 percent of the total population — had personal data exposed due to a breach discovered on July 29. The hack wasn’t disclosed until nearly six weeks later.
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Cordray said the Equifax hack was “far beyond” what had happened at Target and Home Depot several years ago and demanded strong reaction.
Things will ramp up quickly. Even after Cordray’s departure, numerous state attorneys general will pile on, particularly when you conisider that more US citizens were affected by the breach than those who voted in the 2016 election.
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“We’re going to have monitoring in place that’s preventive. It’s going to be a different regime than we’re used to,” he said. “In the past they dealt with these problems on their own. They did the best they could. … That’s not good enough.”
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He said the CFPB will be working with Congress on measures to shore up the way data is handled and how companies react to breaches.
It won’t be easy but it will probably be appropriate. From the payments side, the whole issue of credit freezing will disrupt credit solicitations for the next 5 years.
Overview by Brian Riley, Director, Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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