The FTC says it's investigating the Equifax hack (EFX)

Equifax trading floor

The Federal Trade Commission says it is investigating the Equifax data breach.

"The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations. However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax breach," a spokesman said in an emailed statement on Thursday, according to Bloomberg and Politico.

Equifax last week reported a massive data breach, saying hackers may have accessed the personal details, including names and Social Security numbers, of more than 143 million consumers from mid-May to July. Equifax, which said it learned of the breach in late July, said credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and certain documents for another 182,000 were also accessed.

The disclosure was swiftly met with criticism because of the delay in alerting the public to the hack, as well as problems with the website Equifax set up for people to check whether their details were at risk.

Three senior executives dumped almost $2 million worth of stock days after the company learned of the breach. An emailed statement from the credit-monitoring agency said the executives "had no knowledge" of the breach beforehand.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia on Wednesday asked the FTC to examine the breach, including Equifax's cybersecurity practices. He also questioned its response to consumers who may have been affected by the breach.

Equifax's stock was down 2% at 9:31 a.m. ET. Shares have tumbled about 30% since the news broke last week.

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