TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- As of October 2, 2017, the NYTimes published the article, 2.5 Million More People Potentially Exposed in Equifax Breach (announced September 7, 2017). This increases the total estimate of affected individuals from this breach to more than 145 Million United States Citizens. The personal identifiable information that was compromised included: names, Social Security Numbers, birth dates, addresses, drivers’ license numbers and credit card numbers (for approximately 290,000 individuals) were compromised. This is according to the findings of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
As a society that has embraced and depends upon technology for both personal and business, it is important to understand what to do both before and after a data breach has occurred.
Data breaches are nothing new, and have become more common and widespread. Equifax now joins the list of Target, TJX, and OPM as victims of data breaches that leave your personal data and information vulnerable. These breaches will continue and require individuals and organizations to make objective assessments and improvements to cybersecurity procedures.
In the meantime, we can all be stewards for cybersecurity by following simple steps to minimize or prevent damage from breaches like this in the future. For one, never use the same password for all online activity; if your password is exposed in a data breach, cyber criminals can use it on other accounts that may be tied to you. Secondly, enabling two-factor (or two-step) authentication adds another layer of defense. Third, make sure your antimalware and other software on all of your devices (not just your computer) is current and regularly updated. Lastly, backing up your data is a way to minimize the damage if your information takes a hit. By implementing these measures in your work and home, cyber security becomes a job anyone can do.
For the Equifax Breach the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Weblink is a good place to start as it is convenient and walks the member through the process to identify if their information was potentially compromised from the Equifax breach. After entering their information, the member is given the opportunity to take advantage of the free credit monitoring services being offered by Equifax, regardless of if they are on the list of those potentially affected. The original deadline for the free credit monitoring service was November 21, 2017, which has been extended to January 31, 2018. The enrollment into the free credit monitoring program was a multi-step process, according to a team Tyndall member who has attempted enrollment.
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* Information for this article was gathered from: New York Times, Federal Trade Commission, Business Day, USA Today, MIT Technology Review, and Experian