Equifax data breach further exposes Americans' salary histories

In October 2017, researcher Brian Krebs discovered that a service provided by Equifax's TALX division, The Work Number, made it possible for anyone equipped with an individual's Social Security Number and date of birth to access that person's detailed salary and employment history. Because of the mid-2017 data breach affecting 146.6 million Americans, that information was already in the hands of criminals. The service  collects data from tens of thousands of companies, which also use it for automated verification of employment and income for prospective employees. Many of these companies relied on weak authentication which employees could improve by logging in, changing the password, and setting up secondary security questions. To do this, however, individuals needed to know the service existed and log in before identity thieves pre-empted them. Shortly after the story ran, Equifax shut down the portal for several weeks to improve its security.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/10/equifax-breach-fallout-your-salary-history/

tags: Equifax, data breach, identity fraud, TALX, security

Writer: Brian Krebs

Publication: Krebs on Security