Warren Says Equifax Is Poised to Make Millions Off Its Screw-Up

[CousinIT]

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said one of the biggest injustices of the Equifax Inc. hack is that the company might actually benefit from the fact that a majority of Americans’ personal data is now in the hands of criminals.

“Equifax will be just fine,” Warren told former Equifax Chief Executive Officer Richard Smith at a Senate Banking Committee hearing Wednesday. “Heck, it could actually come out ahead.”

Warren, one of the finance industry’s most relentless critics, noted that the company advertises fraud-protection services and profits from selling consumer-data that it promises to keep safe. On Equifax and its competitors, the Massachusetts Democrat said she wants the “entire industry to be transformed.”

Smith responded that after the breach, Equifax is offering victims free fraud protection tools and other services.

Making Millions

Warren said that may be true, but once the free periods expire, many consumers will probably choose to start paying for the services. She said there are several ways Equifax is poised to make “millions of dollars off its own screw-up.”

...

After such a staggering intrusion, Senator John Kennedy expressed surprise that Equifax is getting new business, including from the federal government. The Louisiana Republican noted that Equifax had just received an Internal Revenue Service contract that’s estimated to cost more than $7.2 million to verify taxpayer identities and help with fraud prevention.

That’s like giving “Lindsay Lohan the keys to the minibar,” Kennedy quipped

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-04/warren-says-biggest-shame-is-that-cyberattack-might-help-equifax

[MattP]

1. Lifelock has a contract with equifax so they make money everytime someone buys lifelock

[woodsprite]

2. And the IRS bought into it to the tune of $7.5 million. n/t

[Initech]

3. At this point, you're probably better off stuffing your money under your mattress.

Fuck Equifax and Lifelock,