BRYAN, Texas — Four Chinese military hackers are charged with hacking into the Equifax credit reporting company in 2017 and stealing the personal information of nearly 150 million Americans.
But how did it all happen?
Back in 2017, almost half of all Americans’ names, birthdays and social security information were stolen in one of the biggest data breaches in the country’s history.
And after Equifax let people know about it, the company agreed to give $425 million to its customers.
Cut to 2020, and four members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s 54th research institute, part of the Chinese military, are charged.
They’re facing computer fraud, economic espionage and wire fraud charges, among others.
The Department of Justice’s indictment says the officers exploited a vulnerability in Equifax’s online dispute portal to look at the company’s network and in turn, steal login credentials.
And now we know that 10 million Americans got their drivers license numbers stolen on top of the other information I mentioned earlier.
If you were affected by the breach, the FTC has a spot on their website where you can file a claim for expenses, get free identity theft help and a free credit report.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to NBC's request for comment after the indictment announcement.
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