What risk did the Equifax breach primarily illustrate?

• A. Identity theft and fraud using exposed social security numbers and credit card numbers.
• B. Loss of physical access data.
• C. Only financial market impact.
• D. None of the above.

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is that exposing personally identifiable information (PII) creates a real risk of identity theft and fraud. In the Equifax breach, attackers potentially accessed Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, and other sensitive data for hundreds of millions of people. With a Social Security number, criminals can fraudulently open new credit accounts, file tax returns in someone else’s name, and commit various types of financial fraud across many institutions. This is why the primary risk highlighted by the breach is identity theft and fraud stemming from exposed PII, rather than something like loss of physical access data or only financial market effects.