Equifax operated an unsecured, public-facing website that allowed anyone to steal sensitive data on more than 145 million Americans—and didn't do anything when warned about it by a security researcher, according to a report from Motherboard.
The revelation is yet another piece of embarrassing news for Equifax, which has taken a series of missteps since the breach first came to light. Now, Equifax's mind-boggling negligence is coming to light. It's hard to imagine that the company could be this dumb.
SEE ALSO: John Oliver slams Equifax in brutal 15-minute rantA security researcher, who spoke anonymously to Motherboard, said that a scan of Equifax's internet-connected systems quickly revealed a website that offered up the data—names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers.
It's insane to think that this information was just sitting there waiting to be taken, but it gets worse. The researcher claimed to Motherboardthat they then notified Equifax of the breach. Equifax did... nothing. Then the breach happened and Equifax finally fixed the problem. Way to close the barn door there, y'all.
The Motherboardstory goes into more detail, and it's well worth reading. But at this point, that's the story. Equifax's security was laughable, and when made aware of its lapse, did nothing. Now, almost half of the U.S. is dealing with the fallout. Meanwhile, Equifax executives made away with cash from selling stock ahead of its inevitable crash. Oh, and the U.S government—supported entirely by Republicans—blocked a rule that would help people band together to take legal actions against companies like Equifax.
Equifax did not immediately respond to requests for comment, which appears to also be their media strategy now.
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