Adam Levin, former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and author of "Swiped," said it’s more critical than ever to hold credit reporting agencies accountable for major data breaches. “When breaches have become the third certainty in life, big fines and penalties will shake up the industry, sending a clear message that data breaches can no longer be considered business as usual. There must be strong cybersecurity practices in place to protect consumer data or there will be a heavy price to pay," said Levin, co-founder of CyberScout, which helps companies manage and protect their identity and data systems.
Equifax led the nation in most consumer complaints in 2017, with some 235,094 customers complaining about the beleaguered credit reporting agency, according CFPB data released Thursday by lendEDU.
The Consumer Federation of America and other consumer groups asked Equifax, Experian and Transunion in a November letter if they profited from the breach, citing strong earnings reports by the companies after the hacking incident.
The groups allege that Equifax and the other credit reporting agencies may have even seen an uptick in consumer purchases of services such as identify theft prevention and credit monitoring subscriptions.
TransUnion CEO Jim Peck predicted the Equifax breach would not harm its direct-to-consumer business because “if anything, there is probably more engagement from the consumer when these kinds of things happen,” the consumer groups said.