The Columbus Dispatch | Randy Ludlow
Ohio will receive at least $7.4 million in a $700 million settlement with Equifax over a 2017 data breach that exposed Social Security numbers and other private information of nearly 150 million people.
Attorney General Dave Yost, one of 47 state attorneys general to pursue the credit-rating company, announced the Ohio settlement Monday.
“Today’s constant threat of cyber crime leaves no room for stewards of the public’s data to ignore security flaws,” Yost said in a statement. “Equifax knew about its vulnerability for months ahead of the breach but did nothing to plug the gap in its defenses. A swift response could have prevented this whole ordeal.”
The settlement includes a consumer restitution fund of up to $425 million for 147 million people whose computerized information was hacked, a $100 million civil penalty and a $175 million payment to the states. Equifax also will institute measures to more securely guard consumer information.