Data and information management

Richard Smith came to Capitol Hill this week to speak about the massive breach at Equifax, but it was clear Tuesday that he will be defending the entire credit reporting industry.

The Trump administration is exploring ways to replace the use of Social Security numbers as the main method of assuring people’s identities in the wake of consumer credit agency Equifax Inc.’s massive data breach.

Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell said capital levels have been well calibrated but that some changes to the capital rules may be in order to make compliance easier.

Losses in sales and penalties from chargebacks may hurt business' sustainability, writes Monica Eaton-Cardone, chief operating officer at Cargebacks911 and Global Risk Technologies.

Former Equifax CEO and Wells Fargo chief both expected to issue mea culpas to Congress; Goldman apparently likes digital currency.

The recent Equifax breach wasn't just a failing of one company's digital defenses — it exposed a fundamental weakness of how the entire financial services industry handles consumer identity. What's surprising is how deep the problem goes.

Equifax Inc.’s former chief executive officer said the credit-reporting company didn’t meet its responsibility to protect sensitive consumer information, confirming that the failure to fix a software vulnerability months ago led to the theft of more than 140 million Americans’ personal data.

Canada's banking industry has issued a warning to government about giving Canadians more control of their own banking data: proceed with caution.

The explosion of interest in digital assets this year, and the multiplying of their market value, are making cryptocurrency debit cards newly attractive. Banks could partner with intermediaries or issue the cards directly, but obstacles remain before that day can arrive.

Equifax mismanaged its recovery by asking for personal information to determine if a user was affected and then issuing a predictable PIN code to those who requested a credit lock, moves that diluted confidence in the company, writes Timothy Crosby, senior security consultant for Spohn Security Solutions.

Though many of its policies were in place before news of the Equifax breach came out, Mountain America Credit Union is doubling down on its approach to protecting member data.

A number of banks and business groups sue to block prohibition on mandatory arbitration; credit bureau weighs how far back to look in denying compensation.

Mastercard is unveiling an anti-fraud tool that’s been in development for more than three years, bringing a new way to pinpoint cards and accounts at the highest risk of fraud following data breaches.

The week of Oct. 2 is shaping up to be a significant one for the financial services industry on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers grill the top executives of Equifax and Wells Fargo, as well as the top regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Points about various exam and regulatory credit union issues were raised

Readers comment on the ripple effects of the Equifax breach, who benefits from the CFPB's final arbitration rule, gender-related issues in financial services, and more.

Diminished returns from basic card breaches will turn crooks' attention to much larger and more dangerous attacks on entire payment systems, writes John Christly, global chief information security officer for Netsurion.

Equifax's data breach may be the most serious, given that it covered 143 million consumers and involved reams of confidential information, but it wasn't the largest. Following are the biggest to date.

Not only will banks be on the hook for counterfeit loans to identity thieves, but they will likely lose loan volume, and ultimately revenue, from changes in consumer behavior.

Yes, the credit bureau goofed badly on data security, and it proved to be worse at crisis management. But other companies have been just as sloppy with cyber defenses, and business and government leaders should have tackled these problems long before now.