Credit reporting firm Equifax reports a breach affecting nearly half the U.S. population

(Image credit: iStock)

published 7 September 2017

On Thursday, the consumer credit reporting company Equifax disclosed a cybersecurity breach that could affect as many as 143 million U.S. consumers — roughly 44 percent of the U.S. population.

The credit card numbers of roughly 209,000 consumers were accessed, as well as "certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers," Equifax said in a press release. Potentially leaked information includes names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, and possibly driver's license numbers.