Not that I completely disagree with you, but lets not pretend that leaking SSN is equivalent to possibly leaking emails and passwords. One of those is far more important than the others. There was also tons of evidence of insider trading by Equifax execs. If anything the Equifax stuff proved to me that the American public doesn't care about privacy and so neither should investors.

Which one are you saying is more sensitive: my ssn or my email password?

Maybe real dollar values will help this discussion:

https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit/what-your-identity-i...

And gmail credentials:

https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-07/how-much-y...

Hilarious that the two replies to you are exact opposite answers, and neither is the original commentator

Email password, of course. I give out my ssn for identification to various organizations. I NEVER give out my email password to anyone except my email provider

Is that even a question? guess what is needed when you go apply for mortgage?

> whose entire premise rests on safeguarding sensitive information

Is this a joke? You are not Equifax's customer and they do not need your trust. Their entire premise is selling information about you, to people who do not trust you. Securing your data is something they have to do for compliance, not a core part of their business.