Skip to main content
Menu Icon
Close

InfoBytes Blog

Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

Credit reporting agency agrees to multi-agency settlement over 2017 data breach

Federal Issues CFPB FTC State Attorney General Settlement UDAAP Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Data Breach

Federal Issues

On July 22, the CFPB, FTC, and 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico announced a settlement of up to $700 million with a major credit reporting agency to resolve federal and state investigations into a 2017 data breach that reportedly compromised sensitive information for approximately 147 million consumers. According to the complaints (see here and here) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the company allegedly engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by, among other things, (i) failing to provide reasonable security for the sensitive personal information stored within its network; (ii) deceiving consumers about its data security program capabilities; and (iii) failing to patch its network after being alerted in 2017 to a critical security vulnerability.

Under the terms of the proposed settlements (see here and here), pending final court approval, the company will pay up to $425 million in monetary relief to consumers and provide credit monitoring to affected individuals, as well as six free credit reports each year for seven years to all U.S. consumers. The company must also pay $175 million to 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and a $100 million civil money penalty to the Bureau. The $425 million fund will also compensate consumers who bought credit- or identity-monitoring services from the company and paid other expenses as a result of the breach. The company must also, among other things, implement a comprehensive information security program that will require annual assessments of security risks and safeguard measures, obtain third-party information security assessments, and acquire annual certifications from the board of directors that the company has complied with the settlements.