ATLANTA, Feb. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, the
U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of four
individuals who are members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA),
the armed forces of the People's Republic
of China, in connection with the theft of consumer data in
2017. As the indictment states, the cyberattack against Equifax was
a state-sponsored operation by a well-funded and sophisticated
military arm of the Chinese government.
CEO Mark W. Begor issued the
following statement:
"We are grateful to the Justice Department and the FBI for their
tireless efforts in determining that the military arm of
China was responsible for the
cyberattack on Equifax in 2017. It is reassuring that our
federal law enforcement agencies treat cybercrime – especially
state-sponsored crime – with the seriousness it deserves, and that
the Justice Department is committed to pursuing those who target
U.S. consumers, businesses and our government. The attack on
Equifax was an attack on U.S. consumers as well as the United States.
Cybercrime is one of the greatest threats facing our nation
today, and it is an ongoing battle that every company will continue
to face as attackers grow more sophisticated. Combating this
challenge from well-financed nation-state actors that operate
outside the rule of law is increasingly difficult. Fighting this
cyberwar will require the type of open cooperation and partnership
between government, law enforcement and private business that we
have experienced firsthand.
During the past two years Equifax has made significant progress
and investments to protect the data entrusted to us, and we are
committed to being an industry leader in data security. We are
spending an incremental $1.25 billion
between 2018 and 2020 on enhanced security and technology as part
of our EFX 2020 cloud technology transformation, and we have made
tremendous progress toward embedding security into everything we
do. Our industry leading cloud technology transformation will make
us more secure and enable us to innovate and develop solutions with
our differentiated data assets to better serve our customers and
consumers. Today's announcement is another positive step forward in
helping us turn the page on the cybersecurity attack as we continue
our focus on being a leader in data security.
These cyber attacks on U.S. companies continue to escalate and
are increasingly challenging to defend when well-financed state
actors are involved. We recognize that cybersecurity issues impact
our entire industry, and we will continue to work openly with our
peers, customers and partners, to tackle emerging security
challenges, document best practices, provide vital data security
thought leadership, and work together to deliver solutions that
benefit both the security community and consumers. Working together
is the only path to defend against these attacks.
We greatly appreciate the work of every FBI investigator and
Justice Department prosecutor who participated in this
investigation."
ABOUT EQUIFAX INC.
Equifax is a global data,
analytics, and technology company and believes knowledge drives
progress. The Company blends unique data, analytics, and technology
with a passion for serving customers globally, to create insights
that power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered
in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 24
countries in North America, Central and South
America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.
It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and
its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 11,000
employees worldwide. For more information,
visit Equifax.com and follow the company's news
on Twitter and LinkedIn.
For more information:
Ben Sheidler
404-885-8332
Mediainquiries@equifax.com
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SOURCE Equifax Inc.