The Equifax data breach of 2017 is one of the largest and most damaging cybersecurity incidents in history. It exposed the personal information of approximately 147 million individuals, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers. The breach highlighted critical security lapses in patch management, incident response, and data protection.
Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States. It collects and stores vast amounts of sensitive financial and personal data used by lenders to assess creditworthiness.
The attackers exploited a known vulnerability in Apache Struts (CVE-2017-5638), a widely used open-source web application framework. This vulnerability, a remote code execution (RCE) flaw, was discovered and patched in March 2017, but Equifax failed to apply the patch in time. Hackers took advantage of the unpatched system to gain access to Equifax’s network.
Attackers entered the system in mid-May 2017 by sending specially crafted requests to a vulnerable web application. This allowed them to execute commands remotely and gain access to sensitive databases.
Once inside, attackers moved laterally across Equifax’s network, searching for valuable data. They compromised multiple databases containing personally identifiable information (PII). The data was exfiltrated in small chunks to avoid detection by security tools. Attackers operated undetected for 76 days before Equifax discovered the breach.
July 29, 2017: Equifax’s security team detected suspicious traffic and identified unauthorized access.
July 30, 2017: The company shut down the affected server but failed to disclose the breach immediately.
September 7, 2017: Equifax publicly disclosed the breach, nearly six weeks after discovery.
The delayed response led to criticism and legal consequences.
The Equifax data breach serves as a wake-up call for organizations handling sensitive consumer data. It underscores the importance of proactive security measures, timely patching, and robust incident response. Businesses must continuously evolve their cybersecurity strategies to prevent similar breaches in the future.
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