Equifax now believes 2.5 million additional Americans were affected by its July cyberattack, according to a company statement released Monday.
The Atlanta-based consumer credit reporting agency hired the Alexandria, Va.-based cybersecurity firm Mandiant to conduct a forensic investigation of the incident, which was disclosed Sept. 7. The firm advised Equifax Sunday that it completed its analysis and found the total number of U.S. consumers affected by the breach had jumped from 143 million to 145.5 million.
"I want to apologize again to all impacted consumers. As this important phase of our work is now completed, we continue to take numerous steps to review and enhance our cybersecurity practices. We also continue to work closely with our internal team and outside advisors to implement and accelerate long-term security improvements," newly appointed interim CEO Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. said.
Equifax will mail written notices to all potentially impacted consumers and update the feature on its website that allows U.S. consumers to check whether their data has been compromised.
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