John Larson, Sam Johnson Hold Social Security Member Roundtable on Equifax Breach

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the recently revealed Equifax data breach, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John Larson (CT-01) and Chairman Sam Johnson (TX-03) held a bipartisan Member roundtable with senior Social Security Administration (SSA) officials. The roundtable focused on the agency's cybersecurity response to the Equifax breach, anticipated risks as a result of the breach, and what the SSA is doing to mitigate those risks for both the agency and the public.

After the conclusion of the roundtable, Larson and Johnson released the following statement:

"Millions of Americans' identities were put at risk due to Equifax's neglect. The fact that several government agencies – including the Social Security Administration – contract with Equifax for identity verification services compounds the seriousness of this breach. Americans expect government agencies to safeguard their personal information. We are encouraged by the SSA's actions to protect the public and its own systems, and we will continue to keep a close eye on this issue as more information becomes available."

Background on Equifax Breach

On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the three primary credit reporting agencies in the U.S., revealed that it learned about a data breach on July 29, which resulted in the theft of sensitive information of at least 145 million American consumers.

The breach exposed the names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers (SSNs), and in some instances, driver's license numbers of those affected. In addition, credit card numbers of approximately 209,000 American consumers, and credit record dispute documents containing personally identifiable information for approximately 182,000 American consumers, were accessed.

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