Kansas will benefit from the $600 million Equifax settlement announced Monday following a huge data breach in 2017.
States receive $175 million of that total amount. Kansas will get about $1.35 million. There were about 1.1 million Kansans impacted when Equifax data systems were exposed by hackers two years ago, meaning the per-capita payout would be just over $1.
An investigation showed Equifax failed to maintain reasonable security measures despite knowing about certain vulnerabilities. As a result, 147 million American adults, or over 56 percent of the country’s adult population, had their consumer data breached over a 76-day period — the largest such incident in American history.
In addition to the state payout, Equifax agreed to a $425 million payment to the Consumer Restitution Fund. As part of that, $300 million is earmarked to consumer redress. If that amount is exhausted, the fund can increase by up to $125 million for additional payouts.
Equifax also has agreed to several steps to help consumers who had their identities stolen or are at risk of that, including making it easier for consumers to freeze or thaw their credit and to dispute credit report information. Equifax is also strengthening its security practices, in part by reorganizing its data security team, monitoring security measures and improving access control or account management tools.
A news release from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office does not say how Kansas will use the Equifax money. Consumers eligible for redress have to submit claims either online or by mail. More information about that process is available by calling 833-759-2982 or online at www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com and www.ftc.gov/equifax-data-breach.
