Alpharetta-based ChoicePoint Inc. says it will tighten security as part of a legal settlement reached with 43 states and the District of Columbia.
The agreement ends one of the biggest lawsuits against the consumer data provider that stemmed from a 2005 security breach that exposed thousands of consumers' personal information.
As part of the settlement, spokesman Chuck Jones says ChoicePoint will do a better job of vetting companies that want access to the data it collects and verifies.
For example, Jones says ChoicePoint will "not just take their word for it that they are a business, not just accept a photocopy of a business license, but actually send an individual to their place of business so that everyone can be assured it is a business that has a valid reason to view a consumer's data."
ChoicePoint will also pay $500,000 for consumer education in the states involved in the lawsuit.
Georgia is not one of those states. Jones says ChoicePoint has briefed the state attorney general's office on the security upgrades the company has made since the break-in.
The agreement ends one of the biggest lawsuits against the consumer data provider that stemmed from a 2005 security breach that exposed thousands of consumers' personal information.
As part of the settlement, spokesman Chuck Jones says ChoicePoint will do a better job of vetting companies that want access to the data it collects and verifies.
For example, Jones says ChoicePoint will "not just take their word for it that they are a business, not just accept a photocopy of a business license, but actually send an individual to their place of business so that everyone can be assured it is a business that has a valid reason to view a consumer's data."
ChoicePoint will also pay $500,000 for consumer education in the states involved in the lawsuit.
Georgia is not one of those states. Jones says ChoicePoint has briefed the state attorney general's office on the security upgrades the company has made since the break-in.
