Equifax will pay at least $700 million — and potentially much more — to settle lawsuits over a 2017 data breach of sensitive personal information for about half the U.S population and about a third of Montanans.
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said in a press release that the settlement reached Monday with federal authorities and states was the largest data breach settlement in U.S. history.
Based in Atlanta, Equifax is one of the country’s three largest consumer credit reporting agencies.
The 2017 breach exposed Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver's license numbers, credit card numbers and in some cases, data from passports.
The settlement with federal authorities and states includes monetary relief to consumers, a civil penalty and other offers to the people affected. It can't, however, guarantee safety for individuals whose stolen information could circulate on the internet for decades.