Equifax Breach Was Worse Than Originally Told

Last September, the credit bureau Equifax announced that their database of consumer information had been breached, exposing about 145 million records, including names, birthdays, Social Security numbers, and some drivers licenses. Most of this information doesn’t change, meaning that the data will stay valid for years, so the thieves can take their time selling off the information to the highest bidder. 

As bad as this was, Equifax has just announced that the breach was broader in scope than originally disclosed. While the number of stolen records has not changed, Equifax now reveals that the data points include tax identification numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, the expiration dates for credit cards, and issuing states for driver's licenses. (Tax Identification numbers, or TINs, are used by non-US residents to report income from earning accounts.)

This announcement reveals the extent of information held by the credit bureaus that, at least to me, seems unnecessary for them to keep. 

I hope the other two credit bureaus take note and purge their databases of superfluous information, in case they get hacked at some point. 

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