The credit reporting giant Equifax has agreed to shore up its data security efforts after a massive breach of personal information sparked scrutiny from state regulators.
Regulators from Texas, California, New York and five other states have signed a consent order with the Atlanta-based company, state officials said Wednesday. The eight-page agreement does not include any financial penalties, but it does require Equifax to take various steps to prevent future data breaches.
“After the breach was announced, my state counterparts and I believed strongly that a targeted regulatory response was required,” Charles Cooper, the banking commissioner in Texas, which led the multistate examination, said in a press release. “This demonstrates the flexibility and responsiveness of the state financial regulatory system as we work together to protect all of our citizens.”
An Equifax spokesperson said in an email that a good number of the steps the company agreed to take under the consent order have already been completed, and indicated that most of the states’ findings are already part of the company’s remediation plans.