adminLast week, the LSCU & Affiliates Board of Directors voted to join the class-action lawsuit against Equifax. The scope of this data breach – 146 million U.S. customers’ personal information and 209,000 credit card account numbers – left us with little choice but to join the suit on behalf our credit unions and their members.
This massive breach has the potential for negative repercussions for many years to come and the costs associated with it. You can be sure that credit unions will incur significant financial losses related to the canceling and reissuing compromised cards, reimbursing consumers for fraudulent charges, increasing fraudulent activity monitoring, taking appropriate action to mitigate the risk of identity theft and fraudulent loans, sustaining reputational harm, and notifying consumers of potential fraudulent activity.
In a special conference call last week, the LSCU & Affiliates Board felt it was important for the League to show leadership by joining the lawsuit as well as our support for both CUNA and Alabama-based Army Aviation Center FCU, who are both lead plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.
I hope this breach will finally convince Congress why comprehensive data security legislation is needed and now.
