Equifax data breach (2017)
Hackers exploited a web application flaw at Equifax and accessed the personal data of about 147 million Americans over several months, including Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses.
Equifax's CEO resigned, Congress held hearings, and the company paid at least $575 million in a settlement with federal and state regulators.
The breach became the benchmark for identity-data exposure, prompting the FTC to expand its data-security enforcement and states to tighten breach-notification laws.
Like Equifax, IDScan.net concentrates sensitive identity data in one vendor. The breach shows the same concentration risk and the same pattern of delayed public disclosure.
