Why Equifax Inc Stock Dropped 12% Today

Shares of consumer credit bureau Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) are down by about 12% as of 3:10 p.m. EDT as the company deals with fallout from a data breach that exposed the personal information -- including names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers -- of as many as 143 million people to hackers.

Equifax's No. 1 job is keeping its records safe from outsiders. It failed in that duty when, from mid-May through July 2017, criminals exploited vulnerabilities in its website to access the personal information of millions of people. The company learned of the unauthorized access on July 29 and notified the public on September 7.

Already dozens of class action lawsuits have been filed against Equifax. The state of Massachusetts may become the first state to file a lawsuit on behalf of its residents who were affected by the data breach, according to an official statement.

Source: Fool.com