The Equifax cybersecurity breach that was announced Thursday and may have affected 143 million U.S. consumers’ personal information is sparking outrage in the financial services community.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced Friday that he would hold a hearing, and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York said he was launching a formal investigation.
Financial reform groups are also warning that the massive breach underscores the need to curb mandatory arbitration and oversee credit bureaus.
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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
