Chinese Military Officers Charged With Atlanta-Based Equifax Hack

ATLANTA, GA — Four Chinese military personnel have been charged with hacking into the computer systems of Atlanta-based Equifax, the credit reporting agency, in 2017. The hackers are being charged with stealing millions of Americans’ personal data and Equifax’s valuable trade secrets, the Justice Department said Monday.

The defendants are all members of the People's Liberation Army, an arm of the Chinese military.

“This was a deliberate and sweeping intrusion into the private information of the American people,” said U.S. Attorney General William Barr, in a news release.

“Today, we hold PLA hackers accountable for their criminal actions, and we remind the Chinese government that we have the capability to remove the Internet’s cloak of anonymity and find the hackers that nation repeatedly deploys against us,” Barr said.

Millions of Georgians are among those eligible for restitution in the $700 million settlement over the Equifax security breach, officials said in July 2019. The Atlanta-based credit reporting company opened an online portal where impacted consumers can file claims for relief.

Investigators found that Equifax failed to patch a vulnerability in its security monitoring system that went undetected for 76 days in 2017, and was exploited by Chinese hackers, prosecutors said.

Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, addresses, credit card numbers and in some cases, driver's license numbers, were included in the breached data, which officials said impacted more than 147 million people.

What To Do If Impacted By The Equifax Breach

Equifax has a tool so people can check whether they were impacted by the Equifax breach and are eligible for part of the settlement. The initial period to file a claim ended last month, but an extended claims application can be filled out.

There is also a portal through the Federal Trade Commission dedicated to the Equifax data breach settlement, where the claims page became active Wednesday, July 24.

How To Protect Your Personal Information

For those who have been affected by this breach, there are steps that can help protect your information, according to the Federal Trade Commission and Georgia's Office of the Attorney General:

• Get a free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228.
• Call the Equifax Settlement Administrator at 1-833-759-2982.
• Take advantage of any free services being offered as a result of the breach.
• Use two-factor authentication on your online accounts whenever available.
• Consider a credit freeze.

Even if you did not file a claim, you can get:

Free Help Recovering from Identity Theft

For at least seven years, you can get free identity restoration services. If you discover misuse of your personal information, call the settlement administrator at 1-833-759-2982. You will be given instructions for how to access free identity restoration services.

Free Credit Reports for All U.S. Consumers

All U.S. consumers can now get 6 free credit reports per year through 2026 by visiting the Equifax website or by calling 1-866-349-5191. That’s in addition to the one free Equifax report (plus your Experian and TransUnion reports) you can get at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said the FBI is dedicated to working with federal partners to seek justice.

“These criminal hackers, sponsored by their government, were not able to hide behind the internet curtain thanks to the determination of FBI Atlanta’s cyber squad, FBI Headquarters Cyber Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia and the Justice Department,” he said.