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After Equifax disclosed a major 2017 breach, federal agencies reportedly contacted its two largest competitors, Experian and TransUnion, to assess whether shared software could expose the wider credit-reporting industry. The outreach was a separate concern from the law-enforcement investigation into how attackers entered Equifax—and the contemporaneous report did not establish whether either competitor had an unpatched system or was breached.
What did the government do after the Equifax breach?
In a September 14, 2017 report, CyberScoop reporter Chris Bing said federal agencies contacted Equifax competitors to understand whether the breach pointed to broader cyberattack risks. An unnamed senior federal official told CyberScoop that officials reached out because the companies used some of the same programs: “Because they all sort of use these same programs, we needed to contact them too,” the official said. “It’s necessary.”
The report described two related but distinct tracks: federal law enforcement was investigating how and why attackers breached Equifax, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was focused on potential industry-wide risk. The account does not provide a detailed agency plan or later investigation results. CyberScoop’s September 14, 2017 report attributed its description of the outreach to the unnamed official.
Why were Experian and TransUnion contacted?
The report named Experian and TransUnion as Equifax’s competitors and said shared use of Apache Struts was the reason officials contacted them. Apache Struts is software; the concern was whether systems using it could present similar exposure. The report said it was unclear whether or when the competitors had updated systems that might have been running older versions.
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That uncertainty matters: the article did not establish that Experian or TransUnion had the same exploitable configuration as Equifax, failed to apply a patch, or suffered a breach. It also reported that the companies did not respond to requests for comment about their communications with government officials.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was the scale of the Equifax breach?
CyberScoop reported in 2017 that upwards of 143 million records were compromised at Equifax. That is the figure as reported in the contemporaneous article, not a newly verified count. The report described Equifax as one of three multinational corporations managing consumers’ credit reports and other sensitive records, which helps explain why officials were concerned about risk beyond a single company.
Quick Recap
What this report does—and does not—show
- It shows: According to a senior federal official quoted anonymously by CyberScoop, agencies contacted Experian and TransUnion to assess broader risk associated with shared software.
- It does not show: Whether either competitor was running a vulnerable configuration, whether either had patched its systems, or whether either experienced an intrusion.
- It does not establish: Current agency activity or current security conditions at any of the three credit bureaus. It is a contemporaneous news account of reported outreach in September 2017, not an official investigation record.
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