During an earnings call detailing the Q3 2017 financial results, Equifax execs said the company incurred $87.5 million in expenses related to the massive data breach it suffered earlier in the year and which it publicly disclosed in September 2017, the Bleeping Computer reports.
Broken down, Q3 2017 hack-related expenses show that the company spent $55.5 million in product costs, $17.1 million incident response and other professional fees, and $14.9 million in customer support.
Equifax management also said they expect additional costs from the massive hack announced this September to amount to a sum between $56 million and $110 million in the coming months. These costs don't include class-action lawsuits, many brewing in many states.
All of these costs come from a security breach Equifax announced on September 7. The company said a hacker managed to steal the personal and financial details of over 145.5 million Americans, and a few other hundred thousand British and Canadian citizens.
In the immediate aftermath, Equifax's Chief Security Officer Susan Mauldin and Chief Information Officer David Webb announced their immediate retirement, followed days later by Chief Executive Officer Richard Smith, who rode into the sunset with a $90 million bonus.
Equifax also came under fire when it was revealed that two high-ranking executives sold stock after the company's security team discovered the breach and before the incident became public.
Yesterday, Equifax released an official announcement saying the two executives did not have knowledge of the incident when they sold their stock and did nothing wrong.
Equifax share price fell from $142 before the security breach announcement to roughly $106 today.
Even two months later, consumers are still angry about the incident. This week, a consumer group delivered 180,000 signatures at Equifax's Atlanta headquarters as part of a petition to force the company to provide better user protections for users affected by the data breach.
The Equifax breach also exposed the general insecurity of the Social Security number system, who've been exposed over and over again across the years in numerous breaches at various entities. US lawmakers are currently looking into replacement alternatives.
