Millions Of Americans' Data At Risk In Equifax Hack

Equifax, one of the nation's three major consumer credit reporting agencies, announced on Thursday that its systems have been hacked. The security breach places 143 million Americans at risk of having their sensitive data compromised.

As a response, the company launched a website where consumers can find out if they're at risk. However, the website requires visitors to input their last name and last six digits of their Social Security number, raising anxiety among many who don't trust the company with the information.

On Friday, New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, sent a letter to Equifax requesting information on the breach as part of an investigation. In addition to the breach, three executives, including the chief financial officer, are alleged to have sold nearly $2 million worth of Equifax stock days after the hack was discovered.

Jonathan Zittrain, George Bemis Professor of international law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and author of "The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It." He tweets @Zittrain.

Hiawatha Bray, technology writer for the business section of The Boston Globe. He tweets @globetechlab.