Equifax to Pay Fine, FTC Lets Another Bad Guy Off the Hook
Equifax expected to pay $650 million to FTC after leaking private information of over 145 million customers. | Source: Shutterstock
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is coming down on Equifax Inc with the strength of an angry kitten. The credit bureau is reportedly expected to pay around $650 million after they exposed the private information of more than 145 million customers in the summer of 2017. The information included names, addresses, driver license numbers, and Social Security numbers.
Equifax waited nearly two months before reporting one of the largest security breaches in U.S. history. Hackers were able to access a security flaw that the company knew of but failed to address. These details are highly sensitive as Mark Begor, who was named Equifax CEO in 2018, admitted recently while being questioned.
Equifax Fine is Large, but Not for Equifax
While $650 million may seem like a steep price, it’s not so harsh when you consider that Equifax has a net worth of over $16.5 billion .
Federal Consumer Program Director of the U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), Ed Mierzwinski, called this a “sweetheart deal” for a company that “failed to do its basic job.”
Mierzwinski continues,
“Failure to protect privacy has a real harm; we think Equifax should have paid real money, not “just go-away” money, and promised real changes to its sloppy last-century practices.”
Facebook Brushes off Record Fine
News of the Equifax deal comes days after the FTC reached a record-breaking deal with another massive, careless company. Facebook will reportedly pay the FTC $5 billion in due to various data leaks , one that may have affected the last presidential election.
Cambridge Analytica stands out as the most egregious. The political data firm, hired by Trump’s 2016 campaign team, gained access to the private information of over 50 million users.
Whistleblower Christopher Wylie said,
“We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons. That was the basis the entire company was built on.”
While $5 billion is a record fine, it hardly seems to be affecting the social media giant. Facebook reported over $15 billion in revenue last quarter alone. Their market value rose by more than $5 billion after news of the fine broke.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Are the Answer
While Congress deliberates over Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra, some lawmakers are starting to see the value of bitcoin. Financial Services Committee Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) recently called bitcoin an “unstoppable force.” Congressman Warren Davidson noted, “there’s bitcoin and then there’s shitcoin.”
Hackers, thieves, and manipulators seem to be evolving faster than the corporations they’re targeting. The need for a new paradigm remains strong. While cryptocurrency exchanges have their own work to do regarding security and safety, the technology behind bitcoin has proven sound over the past 10 years.
And as our identities become more digital, they become more vulnerable to attack and mishandling. Corporations should no longer hold the keys for our private information. Decentralized identity companies are on the rise . Some companies like IBM and Microsoft are starting to see the value of blockchain technology in identity management. It’s time to realize our own true identities as people who have the capability to control their data.
