that drop. Equifax stock price closed at $137.84
— not far from its price of $141.45, where it was
trading just before the breach was disclosed
on Sept. 7, 2017. Business analysts say the
settlement will remove a cloud of uncertainty
over Equifax’s business.
It also, however, underscores that U.S.
consumers are still at the mercy of the credit-
reporting companies when it comes to
protecting their crucial personal details. Two
years after the breach, Equifax, along with its
competitors TransUnion and Experian, remain
the primary repositories of the data that banks
use to make credit decisions.
They face little regulation and disclose few
details about their operations, despite promises
to tighten security and rebuild consumer trust.
Ordinary people have no easy way to opt out
of the data collection that lands their personal
details in corporate databases.
Equifax’s CEO said he has seen zero evidence
the stolen data has appeared for sale on the
so-called “dark web” and no evidence of an
increased identity theft because of the breach.
The company did not provide any evidence to
back up that claim.
Security experts said there’s really no way
to know, especially in the absence of third-
party validation. “You cannot determine with
certainty that the information will never wind
up in the hands of people who are going to
use it,” said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the
University of Washington.
“It is a lifetime risk exposure,” said Rich Mogull,
CEO of the security firm Securosis, who added
that the data might be useful for surreptitious
uses beyond direct identity fraud.
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