The irony of it all. Today’s New York Times calls out Equifax’s breach management program offered for sale to victimized companies; this unit existed before the current issue and is still available to companies that experience a breach.
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As part of its pitch to clients, the company promised to safeguard information.
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It even soldproducts to help companies hit by cyberattacks protect their customers.
And, in the “physician, heal thyself” department, the firm offers four services.
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Quickly inform consumers, employees, and shareholders with pre-defined communications regarding the event and the steps you are taking on their behalf ;
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Offer the appropriate level of identity theft protection products based on the risk profile of the data breach (ask about our Data Breach Risk Assessment Matrix);
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Provide a dedicated Call Center to assist breached victims with product related questions after enrollment.
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Place Fraud Alerts on consumers’ credit files at all three credit reporting agencies as requested.
What caught my eye, as Equifax points out in their collateral, are the five impacts of a breach, as they call it, with “serious implications”.
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Erosion of employee customer trust
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Decline in shareholder value
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Undesirable publicity
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Legal & regulatory liabilities
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Out of budget expenses
This will certainly get ugly, inside and outside of Equifax.
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Equifax now faces a consumer backlash over its response to the hacking attack.
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The anger has been intensified by the actions of three senior executives who sold shares worth $1.8 million in the days after the breach was discovered. The stock, which had tripled in the last five years, is down 30 percent since the attack. Equifax said the executives were unaware of the breach when they sold their stock.
Overview by Brian Riley, Director, Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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