Massive Equifax Hack Shows Cyber Risk to Deposits and Investments Today

44% of US population affected by Equifax hack
Hackers took names, birthdays and addresses, Social Security and driver’s license numbers
Steve Mnuchin “concerned about the global financial system and keeping it safe,”
Hacks is a reminder of the vulnerabilities created in a connected world
Cyber security is a major threat to both banking and financial industry
Investors should hold physical gold as insurance against hacking and cyber attacks

Last week 143 million people woke up to the news that a data breach at Equifax has left them wide open to financial and identity fraud.

Readers will have no doubt read about the hacking of credit bureau Equifax. Not only were they slow to deal with the issue but three senior executives (including the CFO) sold almost $2 million worth of stock prior to alerting customers to the security breach.

This is the third time in sixteen months that Equifax has been hacked. It is the umpteenth time there has been a data breach at a company that holds financial and personal information of its customers. Each time millions of people’s data and livelihoods has been put at risk.

‘Have no doubt: This means you will be hacked. This means your SIM card will be spoofed. This means someone will try to get into your email and online accounts. This means someone will try to open a credit card in your name.’ John Biggs, Tech Crunch.

Equifax is yet another example of incompetence on the part of data-heavy company, with little recourse for customers affected.

Cyberattacks are continuously evolving into incidents that are relentless and unforgiving. In the last 25 years the sophistication of hackers’ tools has improved.

This recent attack puts the Yahoo breaches of 2014 and 2015 in a rather dim light in comparison to the harm caused by Equifax hackers.

2017 has almost proved to be a coming of age year for hackers. So far this year we have already had the biggest ransomware outbreak that saw data breaches at the NHS, FedEx, Telefonica and Deutsche Bahn.

It is now inevitable that something like this goes on and that we are no longer surprised by it. Why is it happening and what can we do about it?