THE EQUIFAX DATA BREACH

If you were not living under a rock for the past month, you would have heard about the latest Equifax data breach. Hackers have been collecting information for a long period of time and many of the managers knew about the breach already but kept quiet. The question we should ask ourselves is: How can we prevent such a thing from ever happening again.

The odds are that some of your sensitive information was stolen — possibly your address, Social Security number, driver’s license and credit card numbers — and could now be up for grabs to the highest bidders on a Dark Web site. Equifax and the other two national bureaus, Experian and TransUnion, keep files on approximately 220 million individuals, so roughly two-thirds of consumers are potentially at risk from the breach. […]
At the very least, whatever rate locks you had could be blown as you scramble to get your files corrected. Or your entire loan transaction could be jeopardized if the process takes too long. […] Source: washingtonpost.com

First of all, do we need a company that keeps a record of people credit scores? Sure it is the way it has been done for decades. but should it be like that?

THE BLOCKCHAIN IS HERE TO HELP

There is no doubt Bitcoin is getting mainstream day after day. Why am I talking about bitcoin? and how it relates to the Equifax data breach?

The Bitcoin Network uses The Mining Process to verify transactions and keep track of who owns how much bitcoin. The information is saved on a public ledger in an anonym way. So if you know the Bitcoin address of somebody you can see how much money they have. BUT not who owns the Adresse.

Such a system can be created so financial institutes can check for a person’s credit score without having to use a company that keeps track of the credit scores. The scores are saved anonymously in a publicly reachable database. Kept safe and updated from miners based on a proof of work system. Basically, Miners get paid for validating the information in the network and adding information to the Blockchain.

In a proof of work (PoW) system, a reward is given for undertaking complex computational work involving solving problems. This exercise is termed mining and people who undertake this work are called miners. Miners compete with each other to find solutions to problems and are rewarded whenever they are able to do so first. (Source)
As you can clearly see this way of keeping records is way safer than storing every piece of data needed to commit identity theft in one place. (What The Equifax data breach showed us) Such companies are the holy grail for hackers and they always will try to hack those companies to gain access to the information.

The bitcoin’s way of keeping track of transactions and data, in general, is very effective and secure. Mining will keep the information in the blockchain secure and anonymous and that is what we need.

The Equifax Data breach and the Future of BlockchainLeading banks and financial institutions are pouring millions of dollars investment into research. In the attempt to harness the power of the blockchain, the protocol that enables Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, major players such as Santander and JP Morgan gave a tacit acknowledgment to the fact that Bitcoin is valuable. […]
Reducing the human factor in money supply and institutional involvement in money distribution to the minimum is an important step forward for our society, and hopefully, we will witness a widespread economic reformation in an attempt to solve the inherent problems with paper money. In this respect, Bitcoin was the missing piece in the puzzle. […] [Source blockgeeks.com]

Or we can keep doing “business as usual” with companies that put aside money to cover any lawsuits they can face for ruining your life, while the top managers keep getting their paychecks.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, for example, Equifax recorded a $6.5 million charge for a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Under that settlement, which involved deceptive marketing of credit scores to consumers according to the bureau, Equifax paid $3.8 million in restitution to customers, a fine of $2.5 million and $200,000 in legal costs.
Or take John Gamble, Equifax’s chief financial officer. He also received a rating of “distinguished” on his individual objectives, the proxy said, because he continued “to advance and execute global enterprise risk management processes, including directing increased investment in data security, disaster recovery and regulatory compliance capabilities.” Mr. Gamble received $3.1 million in 2016. [Source: nytimes.com]

You have the choice, really. Join the cryptocurrency revolution. Learn more about how to buy cryptocurrency or better start mining cryptocurrency to help us change the world. Or just wait for the next Equifax Data Breach.

Follow me for more cool articles, I published this article first on Kryptency.com