Page 40 - Cyber Defense eMagazine - September 2017

This is a HUGE wakeup call to not just Equifax, but to TransUnion and Experian that ANYONE
can fall victim to a cyber attack—especially a company who monitors and maintains almost the
entire country’s personal information. These next few weeks will be essential in how Equifax
and the FBI approach this serious attack and what data breach prevention policies (if any) are
implemented and carried out.

Even more frightful is the company’s decision to wait 41 days AFTER discovering the attack and
launching its investigation, to inform the general public that their entire identities and financial
information could have been exploited and potentially sold on the black market is that 41 days
have passed whereby consumers could have taken measures to determine whether they were

victimized by the attack and how to go about safeguarding what credentials and information
they have.

“I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this
causes,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard F. Smith

Apologies Do No Justice, Do They?
But when it comes to PII, is a blanket apology like this enough to justify the delay in releasing
this information critical to potentially half the nation’s consumers? We will find out.

It’s not IF a company will fall victim to an attack, it’s WHEN. Companies should plan to be
attacked at any given time. To think otherwise is detrimental to any corporate structure and its

consumer base.

About the Author

Andrew Rossow is a Cyberspace and Technology Attorney in Ohio as well as a writer and
global traveler. Mr. Rossow writes about law and technology and the impact it has on

consumers, businesses, and the legal field itself through his #CYBERBYTE series. A native of
Dallas, Texas, Andrew traveled on the Semester At Sea program where he was able to study
and compare the current structure of the legal and technology markets of countries such as
Brazil, Africa, India, Vietnam, and China and how it relates to the legal and technology field in
the U.S.. Andrew received his Bachelor’s from Hofstra University in New York and graduated

from The University of Dayton School of Law.

For more information, follow Andrew’s #CYBERBYTE series on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/drossowlaw and Twitter at @RossowEsq.

40 Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2017 Edition
Copyright © Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide.