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Senators ask credit agencies why they don't report FBI data requests
Tech companies have long disclosed the number of national security letters (NSLs) they get from authorities, but the credit reporting agencies that often dictate your financial future have been silent -- and Congress wants answers. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden and Rand Paul have sent letters to the CEOS of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion asking why the companies don't divulge how many NSLs they receive from the FBI, or release those requests once the non-disclosure orders end. These companies have the "responsibility" to come clean about their information handling when they have loads of "potentially sensitive data," the senators said.
An early test of the GDPR: taking on data brokers
Major data brokers Acxiom and Oracle are among seven companies accused of violating GDPR laws on personal information privacy. Advocates hope the complaints will shed light on the opaque ways that personal data is traded through third parties online both in the EU and the US. The General Data Protection Regulation is a sweeping personal data privacy law that came into force in late May in the EU. For the rest of the world, it's viewed as a bellwether for whether Big Tech can be held in check when immense data leaks seem to happen with painful regularity.
Experian makes it easy for someone to undo your credit freeze (updated)
Turns out Equifax isn't the only credit reporting agency with garbage security, which probably shouldn't come as a surprise at this point. As Brian Krebs reports on his security news website, Experian has a few issues too, namely some incredibly lax barriers to obtaining a PIN used to unlock a credit freeze.
The After Math: Long-distance trips, iPhone issues and Twitter n00bs
Such an eventful week! Besides NASA finding water on Mars, Apple releasing El Capitan and Experian exposing data on 15 million T-Mobile users, we saw journeys of unprecedented distance. And don't forget these impressive iPhone battery life savings thanks to ad blockers, or this soul-crushing Super Mario Bros. editor.
Experian leaks info from 15 million T-Mobile credit applications
T-Mobile has just revealed that it has been the victim of a major hack that has exposed the personal details, including social security numbers, for approximately 15 million of its customers. CEO John Legere has just posted a letter regarding the hack in which he says that a data breach of credit vendor Experian has revealed the info; T-Mobile uses Experian to process its credit applications. Names, addresses and birth dates for those 15 million customers were revealed to the hackers as well as encrypted data that contained details like social security numbers and drivers license numbers. Unfortunately, Experian believes that the encryption protecting those bits of data was compromised, as well.
The United States of Apple
Also note that Apple fans tend to stick to urban areas for the most part -- there is a nice big oasis of Mac fans in Colorado and Nevada, but we wonder if the lower population density in those places makes the results a little weird. Also notice the lack of Apple ownership in the south -- Louisiana is not Mac country, apparently. You can check out the full list of all 206 cities here. You'll need to register to download the results (PDF), but it's worth the look. For those of you who don't want to wait, the top five Mac-centric cities are: San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA; Boston, MA; San Diego, CA; New York, NY; and Washington, D.C. And since it's my second-home, I'll list the sixth, too: Chicago, IL.
New study compares 360, PS3 consumers
A new study released by the Experian Group compares the consumers of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The findings cover age breakdowns, leisurely activities, and personal philosophies about recycling (seriously).Most interesting amongst the somewhat sparse research points was the age breakdown of console owners. Experian pegs Xbox 360 owners at being within the average age range of 35-44, while placing PS3 users as being over 44 on average. Other than age, the report shows that both 360 and PS3 owners share similar interests (board games, go-carting), and both reportedly watch less television than non-gamers polled (um, probably because they're playing games instead).Dramantic findings, indeed! The full report is available for viewing online.
