[JumpCrisscross]

> it might have happened anyway

This isn’t how civil damages work in any jurisdiction.

> like in an assault/homicide case

Apples and oranges. If the only way we can finger Equifax is by equating their actions to violent crimes, there is no case. That is increasingly my conclusion. These leaks have little to no actual cost.

[jjeaff]

In the case of the equifax leak, I don't think they have shown up in large tranches on the dark web like other leaks. Which I think suggests that it may have been a state actor. So Equifax's negligence has created a national security issue. Imagine how a state actor could cripple the financial system by using bots to open millions of accounts en-masse and start taking out loans or whatever. Banks would have to shut down until they could figure out which accounts are fraudulent.