Credit rating agency Equifax to pay up to $600 million in largest-ever data breach settlement

Equifax, the U.S.-based credit rating agency, will pay up to $600 million to settle federal and state investigations into a 2017 data breach of personal information that affected nearly half the country’s population.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

The agency will pay a Consumer Restitution Fund of up to $425 million and a $175 million payment to the states in the “largest data breach settlement in history,” the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday.

“Equifax put profits over privacy and greed over people, and must be held accountable to the millions of people they put at risk,” James said.

The agency is also required to offer consumers, who had their data exposed, with free credit-monitoring services for up to 10 years.

Earlier this month, Facebook was reportedly fined for about $5 billion by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for mishandling users’ personal information.

About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.