Equifax 2017 Data Breach Timeline: From Vulnerability to $700M Settlement

The detailed timeline of the Equifax breach reveals multiple layers of security failure. An expired SSL certificate on a network monitoring tool meant the intrusion detection system could not inspect encrypted traffic, allowing attackers to operate undetected for over two months. During this period attackers accessed 48 databases and exfiltrated data in small increments to avoid triggering volume-based alerts.

The breach at Equifax exposed 147 million records through unpatched apache struts cve-2017-5638. 147 million Americans; also affected UK and Canadian consumers The incident highlights the ongoing challenges organizations face in protecting sensitive user data against increasingly sophisticated attack vectors. Security researchers have noted that breaches of this magnitude often result from a combination of technical vulnerabilities and organizational failures in security practices.

Current status: Settlement fund distributed; Equifax implemented comprehensive security overhaul. Affected users should take immediate steps to protect their accounts, including changing passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, and monitoring financial accounts for unauthorized activity. Filing a DSAR with Equifax can help you understand what data was exposed and request its deletion.