https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a33xgk/firm-hired-to-monitor-data-breaches-is-hacked-143-million-social-security-numbers-stolen > Hackers have stolen the personal details of 143 million people, including their names, social security numbers, birth dates, and home addresses, according to credit monitoring firm Equifax, which disclosed the breach on Thursday. For perspective, that's nearly half of all Americans. > Ironically, Equifax is a company that is regularly hired by major companies to protect the credit of consumers after major data breaches. "You'll feel safer with Equifax. We're the leading provider of data breach services, serving more than 500 organizations with security breach events everyday," its website advertises.