The organization expects credit unions to be faced with substantial costs in the wake of the breach – and it says Equifax should pay them
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An industry group that represents credit unions has become the latest entity to sue credit-reporting agency Equifax over a data breach that compromised the personal information of 145.5 million consumers.
The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) filed a lawsuit last week in federal court. Several individual credit unions will be joining the suit as well, according to CUNA.
The breach – which Equifax knew about in July but did not disclose until September – allowed hackers access to consumers’ Social Security numbers, birthdates, driver’s license numbers and, in at least 200,000 cases, credit card numbers.
According to CUNA, credit unions will likely be faced with a number of long-term costs as a result of the breach, from the reimbursement of fraudulent charges to the cost of increased fraud monitoring. The organization believes those costs should be borne by Equifax.
“We filed this lawsuit because our member credit unions are very concerned with the effects of this breach – everything from reissuing compromised cards to adding uncertainty to the loan-underwriting process,” said CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle. “Credit unions will bear substantial costs dealing with the fallout from this breach, and this lawsuit is a step toward recouping costs and requiring stronger data-security measured in the future.”
In addition to the CUNA lawsuit, Equifax is facing suits from the cities of Chicago and San Francisco and the state of Massachusetts. It’s also the focus of numerous state and federal investigations.
Related stories:
Equifax cyber breach exposes data of up to 143 million people
Equifax data breach worse than originally reported
The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) filed a lawsuit last week in federal court. Several individual credit unions will be joining the suit as well, according to CUNA.
The breach – which Equifax knew about in July but did not disclose until September – allowed hackers access to consumers’ Social Security numbers, birthdates, driver’s license numbers and, in at least 200,000 cases, credit card numbers.
According to CUNA, credit unions will likely be faced with a number of long-term costs as a result of the breach, from the reimbursement of fraudulent charges to the cost of increased fraud monitoring. The organization believes those costs should be borne by Equifax.
“We filed this lawsuit because our member credit unions are very concerned with the effects of this breach – everything from reissuing compromised cards to adding uncertainty to the loan-underwriting process,” said CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle. “Credit unions will bear substantial costs dealing with the fallout from this breach, and this lawsuit is a step toward recouping costs and requiring stronger data-security measured in the future.”
In addition to the CUNA lawsuit, Equifax is facing suits from the cities of Chicago and San Francisco and the state of Massachusetts. It’s also the focus of numerous state and federal investigations.
Related stories:
Equifax cyber breach exposes data of up to 143 million people
Equifax data breach worse than originally reported
