That's the first topic of this Consumerist article by Kate Cox. The article explains that Equifax had been given a fix for the computer vulnerability that the led to the hack, and Equifax had it well in advance of the breach. But the fix was not used at least in part because installing the fix was "labor intensive […]
Over at Credit Slips, law prof Adam Levitin has written Equifax: A Call for Public Utility Regulation of Consumer Reporting Agencies. It's a comprehensive and interesting post, and it's worth reading the whole thing. He starts by explaining the hacking of Equifax in plain terms — what it was (for instance, how it is different from […]
Can a company designing a driverless car simulate "the little nods and go-ahead half-waves that keep people from getting into crashes"? That's a topic of this article by Michael Laris.
This article by Gabrielle Hernandez explains that Chatbot company DoNotPay released a set of chatbots that can help consumers sue Equifax for negligence. Users provide their name and address to the bot, and it feeds the information into a state-designated form users can then print and file directly with the court. DoNotPay’s Equifax bots were first […]
Read about it in this article by Kevin McCoy. An excerpt: Filed in 14 states and the District of Columbia, the federal lawsuits target either Equifax or the company's Equifax Information Services subsidiary. The legal complaints cite a range of legal claims, including alleged security negligence by Equifax, the delay in alerting the public and concerns about the free credit monitoring […]
The Washington Post reports: Tens of thousands of former students who say they were swindled by for-profit colleges are being left in limbo as the Trump administration delays action on requests for loan forgiveness, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press. The Education Department is sitting on more than 65,000 unapproved claims as […]
by Jeff Sovern Brian posted earlier about a letter from senators on the Equifax breach. Not to be outdone, the two dozen Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have written their own letter to Equifax, raising numerous questions about the breach. Among them are queries about the Equifax's arbitration clause, security freeze, credit monitoring services, […]
Read this article by Pete Schroeder. An excerpt: Thirty-six U.S. senators on Tuesday called on federal authorities to probe the sale of nearly $2 million in shares of credit bureau Equifax Inc by company executives after a massive data breach this summer, and one compared their actions to insider trading. The lawmakers signed a letter […]
by Jeff Sovern I wanted to comment on a couple of op-eds opposing the CFPB arbitration rule. One is Joseph Cioffi's piece in the American Banker, headlined CFPB arbitration rule will still pose costs to consumers. Though Cioffi (Chair of the Insolvency, Creditors’ Rights & Financial Products Practice Group at Davis & Gilbert) sees the arbitration rule as […]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head Richard Cordray was the subject of a story that aired yesterday on CBS's "Sunday Morning" news program. To view it, click here or on the embedded video below. The story depicts Cordray as indefatigable — and "the best friend the consumer has ever had" — in the face of constant harassment […]