The Equifax Data Breach Shows Why We Need Blockchain-Based Credit Monitoring

For a company that's been operating since the year 1899, it may be surprising that Equifax is yet again beset by hacks and breaches of data, the latest of which has compromised the personal information of a third of all Americans.

In case you have been under a rock for the last couple of days, you've heard about this latest hack as well as the sale of stock by three executives, out of schedule, just days after the breach was discovered on July 29th.

If you have been affected by this breach you can find information on the Federal Trade Commissions site HERE.

And if you have the stones to part with more information, you can always check to see if you have been compromised by entering in even more personal info HERE

I went and checked this site for purposes of this post and after entering in my additional personal information (smh), I was greeted with this screen:

They believe? Also, they now want to offer me free services to make up for their negligence? I'm pretty sure they aren't altruistic people, so anyone looking to benefit from these services just make sure they're on the level and not asking you to waive any rights, as that appears to be the case. I mean, after all, they are facing a major class-action lawsuit.

I'm not going into the details of the hack or this sale of stock that smells of insider trading. Instead, I simply want to point out that this latest breach affirms the suspicion that the credit monitoring space is ready for disruption.

Credit Monitoring Isn't Working

Personally I strive to avoid credit cards and loans, as much as reasonably possible. However, the crypto revolution is only in its infancy, leaving many people (In America at least) to rely on these traditional financial vehicles.

When a person gets a loan or a new credit card the information is passed along to the three major credit reporting agencies. Ideally, their existence provides those who are issuing loans or cards with the information needed to determine if the applicant can be considered "creditworthy".

Never mind that this collection and information sharing appears to be largely without our consent, it also clearly lacks the necessary protections it needs in a world that's gone digital.

Any simple google search will reveal how many people struggle with inaccurate or blatantly incorrect information on their credit reports. This isn't new, and it isn't news anymore. The only reason this particular breach is such news is because it is now perhaps the largest data breach in American history. Not the kind of publicity you'd want, for sure.

Can Blockchain Come to the Rescue?

Blockchain technology is not the be-all-end-all solution to the problems of every industry, but it can be a major disruption in the industries where its application constitutes a paradigm shift from how business was previously done. The echoes of this new reality are already sounding over supply chains and even countries.

Until the world moves over to crypto fully (leave me to my fantasies!) there will be a big market for blockchain based solutions to old-world problems, as evidenced by the fierce competition between XRP and SWIFT.

Inefficient credit monitoring is how that old-world does business since 1899, at least in Equifax's case.

With projects like Civic already underway, it's only a matter of time before a team comes along to disrupt the major three credit monitoring agencies who always seem to be asleep at the wheel.

I bet an audit of all three credit monitoring agencies would reveal similar vulnerabilities, as birds of a feather tend to flock together.

Or in Gif:

Can you guess which of the three above is Equifax?

Is Blockchain-based credit monitoring coming? Or is it that, where we're going, we won't need credit monitoring as it exists today? Leave your thoughts below!

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@prufarchy
image used sourced from pixabay before editing