It would be nicer if people and corporate entities cut them off and only dealt with Transunion and Experian.
I don't think "revoking a charter" is a thing, and in particular not in Delaware where I assume they incorporated.
FTC has opened a probe, and Warren is introducing legislation.
I feel relatively confident that some heads will roll on this one in one form or another, because a lot of rich and powerful people are part of the breach and stand to lose the most.
I'm not sure exactly what action to take. I have two monitoring services on my credit (not Equifax). So any inquiry should flag. I'm contemplating a credit freeze, but I happen to be in the middle of some things that may require an inquiry, so that's not ideal.
To some extent, I expect some herd effects. Not sure how they'll target people out of 140MM options.
In practical terms, I'm not sure this is so much information that isn't already available. It's just a lot more than usual.
None of that absolves Equifax in any way. Their Board should be firing execs right about now, if they have any credibility. I won't hold my breath.
The information, as reported, is this:
"names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver's license numbers"
Generally speaking, its already not hard to find my address or birth date. A DL number? Not sure how far that gets you. The SSN is the big deal.
A much smaller number had credit card numbers out.
The best long term solution is one in which somebody with those small tidbits can't apply for credit and get it. This would be fought tooth and nail by retailers (online and offline), lenders, auto dealers... really just about everybody who wants your money today, not tomorrow.
Solutions could include actually mailing you something you need to confirm, physical presence with ID, even a three day waiting period to allow your monitoring to inform you of inquiries in time to initiate a freeze.
