Categories
Headlines

Equifax: US charges four Chinese military ‘hackers’

Image copyright
Getty Images

Image caption

The credit firm holds data on more than 820 million consumers

The US has charged four Chinese military officers over the cyber-attack of credit score giant Equifax.

More than 147 million Americans were affected in 2017 when the alleged hackers, who are members of the Chinese Liberation Army (PLA), stole personal data including names and addresses.

Some UK and Canadian customers were also affected.

“This was one of the largest data breaches in history,” said Attorney General William Barr.

Equifax said hackers accessed the information between mid-May and the end of July 2017 when the company discovered the breach.

The credit rating firm holds data on more than 820 million consumers as well as information on 91 million businesses.

In a statement Mr Barr said: “This was a deliberate and sweeping intrusion into the private information of the American people.

“Today we hold PLA hackers accountable for their criminal actions, and we remind the Chinese government that we have the capability to remove the internet’s cloak of anonymity and find the hackers that nation repeatedly deploys against us.”

Avatar

By Laura Price

Laura is the senior writer and Smartphones section editor responsible for managing software updates and smartphones section. She is very passionate about Gadgets & Technology and always looking around to use them in an innovative way in daily life. She reviews Gadgets & Applications to tell users about their optimum use to get the most out of in which they’ve put their time and hard earned money.
Email:[email protected]