S4 E27: Equifax & Iran Nuclear Deal: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
26 Aug 2024 (25 days ago)
Harvey Weinstein and the Motion Picture Academy
- Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, with some people initially defending his actions. Angie Everheart stated that Weinstein broke into her room and masturbated in front of her.
- The Motion Picture Academy expelled Harvey Weinstein, citing his behavior as unacceptable.
President Trump's Decisions
- President Trump decided to eliminate $7 billion in subsidy payments to insurance companies, a move projected to increase insurance premiums and add to the federal deficit.
- President Trump decided not to certify the Iran nuclear deal, despite compliance from Iran and support from his cabinet members and international allies.
- The Iran Nuclear Deal is an agreement between multiple countries, including the UK, Germany, and France, not just the US and Iran.
The Equifax Data Breach
- The information compromised in the Equifax data breach included names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver's license numbers, addresses, and other sensitive data belonging to 145 million Americans.
- Equifax is one of the three major credit reporting agencies that store and manage financial data of individuals, which is used by institutions like lenders and landlords to assess trustworthiness.
- Equifax's data breach compromised the Social Security numbers of about half of the US population.
- Equifax executives sold nearly $2 million in company stock after the data breach was discovered but before it was publicly announced.
- Equifax was alerted by Homeland Security in March that they needed to fix a critical vulnerability in their software, but one person forgot to tell anyone about the software patch.
- Equifax tweeted links to a fake Equifax website, securityequifax2017.com, at least eight times.
- LifeLock, a credit monitoring service, purchases credit monitoring services from Equifax.
- Equifax was awarded a $7 million contract by the IRS to prevent fraud, but the deal was later suspended.
- Businesses are the primary customers of Equifax, as they purchase consumer data, making them the only group that can exert influence over the company.
Social Security Number Theft
- Criminals can use social security numbers to open credit cards, purchase homes, open bank accounts, take car loans, get jobs, file taxes, and claim dependents for tax refunds.
Bo Dietl's Controversial Statements
- New York City mayoral candidate Bo Dietle made controversial statements during a debate, including remarks about a Muslim state worker, his Jewish lawyer, and an African American judge.