Equifax data breach focuses Washington's attention on security of sensitive personal information

The massive data breach at credit reporting firm Equifax has put the company in the cross-hairs of congressional committees and one of the nation’s most aggressive attorneys general, while fueling a new push for stronger protections on Americans’ personal information. Even the Trump administration, which has advocated slashing government rules, has indicated new regulations might be needed. The revelation that a hack of Equifax’s computer system exposed the Social Security numbers and birth dates of as many as 143 million people also could scuttle Republican efforts to limit the liability faced by credit reporting companies and other financial firms in disputes with consumers. The scale of the latest in a series of high-profile data breaches has refocused attention on the role of the three major credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — as repositories of a trove of sensitive data. “This debacle should be a wake-up call to both consumers and policymakers about the industry's broad reach,” said Rohit Chopra, a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America.