Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack • Hacker News Board

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#611

Post by joering2 » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 12:34 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #142

joering2 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many time the thiefs are actually caugh. If he she admits to stealing your data in this leak AND you are damaged, then here is your proof.

I think it's unlikely you'll actually be damaged. Any real financial impact would have been reversed by your bank. Maybe a fee or two that two parties argue about who should reimburse your for it, however I can't see stuff like that adding up to $1,000 (or even $100).

You misunderstood how this affects SS #s holders. Its way more serious than just opening up a credit card and disputing it later on. In such situation the bank will reimburse you and close down fake account, but many banks will put negative information on your account just to warn other banks. You have to look at it from bank perspective, not your own. The bank can report: "okay we don't know how and when but someone opened account in client's name on his behalf so this clients has problems with his identity being stolen. Be warned".

Edit: not to mention the worse damage will be from fraudsters taking loans.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#612

Post by amptorn » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 12:41 PM UTC

wildmusings wrote: post #503

panic wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since Congress defines what the law is, couldn't they do it? The only law binding Congress's lawmaking powers is the Constitution, and I don't think it restricts their ability to dissolve corporations.

In addition to what others have said, you cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process in the US.

I'm sure that comes as great comfort to all the people in the US to whom that's happened.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#613

Post by bpicolo » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 12:54 PM UTC

ineptech wrote: post #349

adrr wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Won't work. Once companies start gathering private data stored in this DB, it can be compromised and government isn't that great at securing data either. MFA would required everyone having a smart phone or RSA key fobs. SMS/Phone based authentication isn't secure. Only real way to get true identity system is biometrics(Fingerprints,DNA, or Iris) taken at birth. But that will never happen for privacy reasons.

Biometric has its own problems. What's a fingerprint but a password you can't change? Any secret can be stolen, bio or otherwise. The key to robust ongoing identity is not a better shared secret, it's a better way of recovering from theft of shared secrets. One way is to have a big trove of non-secret-but-not-public data, like prevous addresses and employers (which is how the credit bureaus sometimes authenticate peo…

Some people are born without fingerprints. Would make it a crappy method for them

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#614

Post by trumpownsyou420 » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 12:57 PM UTC

drewmol wrote: post #526

cletus wrote: post #340

Ok, so credit reporting agency collects sensitive personal and financial data on basically every adult American, loses it to a bunch of criminals and now I have to deal with the consequences? I looked into credit freezes yesterday. This is really a total scam. You have to _call_ each of the three agencies and pay a fee ($5 to $10) each time. If you need to unfreeze your report to make a legitimate credit application…

I posted this on another less popular thread about the topic; Equifax stock was down about 14% overnight from yesterday to this morning but held pretty steady today... "This is not financial advise: I remember a few commentors on HN recently saying they have made large gains by buying stock of companies after the news of cyber security breaches significantly reduced the share value, then waiting for the dust to settl…

or you can just do crypto and not be a schlub

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#615

Post by Dowwie » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 1:04 PM UTC

privaroonie wrote: post #291

Yeah, I would think so. So far, we've learned that they've exposed virtually everyone's data through their incompetence (thus exposing nearly every adult in the US to a high risk of identity fraud), sold stock to avoid personal financial losses before the news broke, and set up a scam site to trick people into giving up their right to sue. If this isn't criminal, then nothing is. If someone doesn't go to jail over th…

It is presented like a scam site, but without compelling users to agree to terms and conditions the site doesn't pass the basic contract law requirement of establishing a clear, unambiguous pathway to assent by a consumer to the terms.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#616

Post by dhimes » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 1:07 PM UTC

Sangermaine wrote: post #226

dhimes wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, class action suits aren't really about recovering damages for the class members. Or at least, not entirely. That was exactly what they were supposed to be about. The way it usually works out, however, is that the lawyers don't really negotiate on the same side of the table as the class and the class members end up with very little. The lawyers, however, get their fees. That's why everybody gets pissed abo…

>That was exactly what they were supposed to be about. No, they really aren't, because as the parent says class actions are appropriate where the harm to each individual class member is small, but the small harm is spread out to many people. You as an individual were not harmed much, so you as an individual would not collect much even if you went it alone and recovered 100%. Litigation doesn't (generally) yield more…

Believe it or not, they really are supposed to be about this. Here's a writeup [1] speaking about the Supreme Court's ruling on the matter:

"Purpose? According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the “principal purpose” of class actions is “the efficiency and economy of litigation.” [4]The Court has also noted other justifications for class actions, including:

    the protection of the defendant from inconsistent obligations;
    the protection of the interests of absentees;
    the provision of a convenient and economical means of disposing of similar lawsuits; and
    the facilitation of the spreading of litigation costs among numerous litigants with similar claims.[5]

In other words, people whose claims might be too insignificant to litigate alone can band together. The class action device can eliminate redundancy in the judicial system, streamline litigation, and in some cases, create significant institutional change. "

[1] https://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/litigationnews/pract...

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#617

Post by anonu » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 1:28 PM UTC

I think this shows that inanity of centralized credit rating agencies. How do we disrupt this? What if every person you owed money to (Credit cards, mortgage companies, car loan companies) basically reported your payment status on a monthly basis on the blockchain? I think this could work... Anyone could check your credit history - but at least it would be decentralized. There's obviously a lot of questions: How do you protect privacy of individuals? How to identify individuals with a number other than your SSN? Or maybe you do anyway... keeping your SSN secret in this day and age is clearly not viable longterm.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#618

Post by throwawayjava » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 1:33 PM UTC

anonu wrote: post #617

I think this shows that inanity of centralized credit rating agencies. How do we disrupt this? What if every person you owed money to (Credit cards, mortgage companies, car loan companies) basically reported your payment status on a monthly basis on the blockchain? I think this could work... Anyone could check your credit history - but at least it would be decentralized. There's obviously a lot of questions: How do y…

permanent and unrevokable authentication tokens are dangerous.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#619

Post by bunderbunder » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 1:41 PM UTC

anonu wrote: post #617

I think this shows that inanity of centralized credit rating agencies. How do we disrupt this? What if every person you owed money to (Credit cards, mortgage companies, car loan companies) basically reported your payment status on a monthly basis on the blockchain? I think this could work... Anyone could check your credit history - but at least it would be decentralized. There's obviously a lot of questions: How do y…

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires Consumer Reporting Agencies to do two things that are fundamentally at odds with the idea of using a blockchain: Negative information must be removed from your record after a certain amount of time. And false or inaccurate information - which some studies suggest exists on about 25% of consumer credit reports - must be removed or amended upon request.

Both of these are Good Things. One of the most important things our legal system provides is opportunities for remediation when something goes wrong.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#620

Post by bga » Sat, Sep 09, 2017, 2:02 PM UTC

joe_the_user wrote: post #552

90s-socal-kid wrote: post #538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there were a $17 billion judgement against a $17 billion company, it would not sell for $17 billion. It is also unlikely a $17 billion market cap = $17 billion in assets during an emergency sale. Especially with the shadow of a $17 billion judgement that could encumber the acquired assets. It's bad business to acquire assets from someone with a judgement against them, unless you're getting a great deal.

If there were a $17 billion judgement against a $17 billion company, it would not sell for $17 billion. If there is a judgment against a company which that company cannot pay, that company enters bankruptcy. What happens when a corporation enter bankruptcy is the assets of the corporation are assigned to a receiver. The receiver then disposes of those assets with the aim of raising as much money as possible to pay th…

Bankruptcy is the strange other side of the US debt system. In this case, it would be an unfair get out of jail free card, a shirking of responsibility.