What consumers are doing to protect their data one year after the Equifax breach

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Richard Smith, Former President and CEO of Equifax Inc., Testifies Before House Energy and Commerce Hearing on Equifax Data Breach Monitoring: Answers for Consumers, Capitol Hill, Washington, October 3, 2017.

"There is no doubt that the breach in the Equifax data breach is that many people have been forced to take action," said Matt Schulz, chief analyst at CompareCards.

Even though the Equifax cyber attack was not the first major violation in an American company, it was different in that the data revealed included much more identifying information – and that consumers did not share it voluntarily. Like other credit reporting companies, Equifax collects and compiles consumer personal data from various sources to create credit reports and calculate credit ratings.

"Protecting the data entrusted to Equifax is the company's top priority," an Equifax spokesperson said in a statement sent by email to CNBC, highlighting the diversity of security, operational and technological improvements made. on these aspects of his business.

A year ago, the public outcry over this violation led to congressional hearings, government investigations and class actions. The chief executive of Equifax and other senior executives resigned after the breach while the company was failing to handle the crisis. (which means no class actions) for anyone signing up for this service.