Equifax discovers another 2.4 million users hit by data breach

Credit score provider Equifax has revealed it found another 2.4 million US consumers hit by a data breach last year, bringing the total to 147.9 million.

The company said the latest batch of consumers affected had their names and driver’s license information stolen, but noted less information was taken because it did not include home addresses, driver’s license states, dates of issuances, or expiration dates.

On Sept. 8, the company disclosed that personal details of as many as 143 million US consumers were accessed by hackers between mid-May and July. 

A month later, Equifax said 2.5 million more customers were affected in what is one of the largest data breaches in the US.

The company today said the newly identified consumers were not included in the total customers affected last year because their social security numbers were not stolen - only their partial driver’s license information.

Equifax said it was able confirm the identifies of US consumers whose driver's license information was taken by referencing other information in proprietary company records that the attackers did not steal.

Equifax said it will notify the affected consumers directly, and will offer identity theft protection and credit file monitoring services at no cost to them.