Bank Hack Leads to Theft of Experian's Credit Reports
In a recent development, credit reference agency Experian has confirmed a data breach that affected more than 17,000 credit reports since 2006. The breach was primarily related to isolated security issues experienced by a few of Experian's US clients, including Abilene Telco Federal Credit Union in North America.
The unauthorized access was facilitated through a hack on Abilene Telco Federal Credit Union, a bank in Texas. As a result, hackers were able to access an employee's PC at Abilene Telco, which had access to Experian's credit reports.
However, it's important to note that the breach did not involve a failing of Experian's own security systems. In fact, Experian's security system quickly alerted Abilene Telco Federal Credit Union and the affected consumers (702) to the suspicious activity related to the stolen credit reports. The unauthorized access in the case of Abilene Telco was disabled due to Experian's security measures.
The breach was one of many revealed following investigations by privacy advocate 'Dissent Doe' and other contributors to the DataLossDB.org website. Experian informed the Attorney General of the breach when it happened and proactively notified consumers who may have been affected by the illegal attempts to obtain consumer information.
According to Jim Fitzpatrick, Experian's then-CIO, compliance with privacy laws is fundamental to their credibility in the marketplace. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States was also informed about the data security breach in September of last year.
The information was reported by the Bloomberg news agency, and it's been revealed that 15,500 of the stolen credit reports were from Experian. In September 2021, 847 credit reports on US citizens were stolen from Experian.
Experian prioritizes protecting its clients and consumers from identity theft and has been working diligently to address this issue. The company remains committed to maintaining the trust and security of its customers' personal information.
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