Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey registered a lawsuit on Tuesday upon credit reporting firm Equifax following a gap that exposed the private data of as many as 143 million people, including 3 million in the state.
Equifax’s cut-price has fallen by nearly one-third after it disclosed the data breach, which involved sensitive data like Social Security numbers, on Sept. 7. Equifax pieces dipped 0.1 percent to $94.25 on Tuesday.
Massachusetts’ lawsuit is the first formal enforcement action in what is supposed to be a massive legal attack against Equifax in the wake of a hack that revealed the personal financial data of as many as 143 million people in the US, including names, Social Security amounts, birthdates, and addresses of consumers. A handful of lawyers general for other states, including New York, Illinois and Connecticut, and two leading senators, have asked the organization for data about the hack.
Some of the topics focus on nearly $1.8 million in property sales made by Equifax officials, including the company’s chief commercial officer, three days after the violation was found and several weeks before it was made public.
“Equifax knew about the vulnerabilities in its order for months, but completely failed to keep the personal data of nearly three million Massachusetts citizens safe from hackers,” said Healey said in a statement.
“Equifax needs to pay for its errors, make the residents whole, and fix the puzzle so it never happens again,” Healey added.
The lawsuit seeks civil fines, disgorgement of profits, compensation, costs, and attorneys fees.
The Equifax violation has also affected about 100,000 Canadians, it said on Tuesday. “The data that may have been breached carries name, address, Social Insurance Number and, in limited cases, credit card numbers,” Equifax said.
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