Innovative Iraqis dodge net blackout to illuminate protest violence

Yahoo – AFP, Maya Gebeily, October 5, 2019

Protesters have used mobile phones to film against a backdrop of tear gas volleys
and live rounds during demonstrations that have gripped Iraq since Tuesday (AFP
Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Baghdad (AFP) - With secret satellites, pricey messages abroad and clandestine file transfers, young Iraqis are circumventing an internet blackout aimed at stifling several days of bloody protests in the capital and beyond.

Authorities restricted access to Facebook and Whatsapp after anti-government demonstrations began on Tuesday, before ordering a total network shutdown on Wednesday.

The termination of Wifi, 3G and 4G access left protestors with just regular phone calls and mobile messages -- a few notable exceptions aside.

Ahmad, 29, works at an internet service provider that helped implement the government's shutdown, but still has internet access at its headquarters.

"I go to the protests in the morning and shoot video on my phone, then use the internet at work to upload them to Facebook or send them to media outside Iraq," he said, using a fake name for fear of retribution or legal action by the government.

Protesters say the internet outage is an attempt to suppress reports of security forces using indiscriminate force including tear gas, live rounds and water cannons.

Ahmad showed AFP footage he planned to send to international media later that evening -- shots could be heard fired across a mostly-empty street in Baghdad as he and fellow protesters took cover behind a concrete barrier.

"Friends are even giving me the footage they shoot on flash drives so everyone outside Iraq can see what's happening here," he said.

Iraqi protesters take cover in Baghdad's central Khellani Square, while using their 

mobile phones - devices that have been key to citizen efforts to record alleged heavy 

handed tactics by security forces (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Before Tuesday, many Iraqis had taken to Facebook and Instagram to call for initial protests against a range of grievances: unemployment, mass government corruption, nepotism, poor public services, and more.

Images of young men and women marching towards the emblematic Tahrir Square flooded social media the first day, using the hashtag #save_Iraqi_people.

When restrictions on Facebook began, Iraqis acted quickly; many downloaded virtual private network (VPN) applications.

Others even began surreptitiously posting the details of the next protests in the comments section of Cinemana, a popular streaming service in Iraq.

But those avenues were shut off by the systemic shutdown.

Those that could afford to therefore erected costly satellites on their rooftops to get a window into the outside world.

'Follow the gunfire'

Nearly 100 people have died in the demonstrations since Tuesday, most of them protesters but also personnel from the security forces, according to authorities.

"They’re trying to fight us not just with arms, but with this blackout," said 31-year-old protester Osama Mohammad.

"We used to check the different neighbourhoods' Facebook pages to know where to go for protests. Now we just follow the sound of gunfire," Mohammad told AFP.

Live rounds have allegedly repeatedly been fired during the protests, which have 

evolved into calls for fundamental government change (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

"If they cut off regular phone lines, we'll be completely blind," he noted.

For 25-year-old women's rights activist Rasha, taking to the streets carries too much risk, but she says she has found a different way to get involved.

Every day, her male friends text her dozens of updates from protest squares across the country, which she then texts and phones through to friends in the United Arab Emirates and Europe.

"I'm an intermediary. I can’t protest myself so this is the least I can do," she said, telling AFP the phone credit she buys has cost her around $100 (90 euros) per day for the last three days.

Rasha, who comes from Baghdad, is also saving videos and other unpublished material from one of the first protests that turned violent. She attended that initial demonstration.

"They think we'll forget they fired at us, they think people won't know. But I've got the videos and I'll publish everything I saw that day the minute the internet comes back," she said.

Jaafar Raad, an unemployed 29-year-old Iraqi who has frequently protested, is also storing dozens of images and videos to release once the blackout is lifted.

He even records voice notes from the protests themselves in applications like Whatsapp and Facebook, so that the audio messages will automatically send to friends abroad and international media outlets as soon as the internet returns.

"People must know what happened to us. This is so we can hold those behind the violence accountable," he told AFP.

#UPDATE The United Nations urged an end to violence in Iraq, after five days of anti-government rallies marred by the killing of nearly 100 people, mainly protesters https://t.co/BwOOH1xgzN pic.twitter.com/M919mR4vcP

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 5 oktober 2019

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“The End of History”, Seattle, Washington, Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll

“… The Internet - The first Worldwide Tool of Unification

Now I give you something that few think about: What do you think the Internet is all about, historically? Citizens of all the countries on Earth can talk to one another without electronic borders. The young people of those nations can all see each other, talk to each other, and express opinions. No matter what the country does to suppress it, they're doing it anyway. They are putting together a network of consciousness, of oneness, a multicultural consciousness. It's here to stay. It's part of the new energy. The young people know it and are leading the way.

I gave you a prophecy more than 10 years ago. I told you there would come a day when "everyone could talk to everyone and, therefore, there could be no conspiracy." For conspiracy depends on separation and secrecy - something hiding in the dark that only a few know about. Seen the news lately? What is happening? Could it be that there is a new paradigm happening that seems to go against history?  ... “

Streaming wars heat up as rivals queue up to challenge Netflix

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, March 17, 2019

Netflix has taken the lead in streaming to expand into 190 markets but is now facing
some deep-pocketed rivals including Apple and Disney (AFP Photo/ROBYN BECK)

Washington (AFP) - Some of the biggest names in media and tech are gearing up to move into streaming, in what could be a major challenge to market leader Netflix.

Apple is expected to make its move with an announcement March 25 on its media plans, with a war chest estimated at some $1 billion and partners including stars like Jennifer Aniston and director J.J. Abrams involved in content.

Walt Disney Co. has announced its new streaming service Disney+ will launch this year, as will another from WarnerMedia, the newly acquired media-entertainment division of AT&T.

The new entrants, with more expected, could launch a formidable challenge to Netflix, which has some 140 million paid subscribers in 190 markets, and to other services such as Amazon and Hulu.

"It's really going to change the industry," said Alan Wolk, co-founder of the consulting firm TVREV who follows the sector.

Wolk said he sees seven or eight powerful players in streaming which will lead to "huge competition for new shows and hit shows."

These rivals are coming into the segment which has been transformed by the spectacular growth of Netflix and a growing movement by consumers to on-demand television delivered over internet platforms.

In the US alone, an estimated six million consumers have dropped pay TV bundles since 2012, while on-demand services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have been surging, according to Leichtman Research.

But just as Netflix has disrupted traditional "linear" television, rivals are now moving to disrupt Netflix.

Strong name recognition and sought-after content is liekly to make Disney a

formidable competitor in streaming television (AFP Photo/Alberto E. Rodriguez)ls)."

Feeling pain

Netflix is likely to feel pain, not only from the new rivals, but also from the loss of content from the big libraries of Disney and Time Warner.

These Hollywood firms "have big libraries, so the cost of their content is much lower than it will be for Netflix, which has to pay for all its content," said Laura Martin, analyst with the research firm Needham & Co.

"Netflix will lose subscribers to these new entrants," Martin said.

AT&T's WarnerMedia will launch its service later this year that combines the content from its premium HBO channel (known for "Game of Thrones") and the vast Time Warner library or films and shows.

Disney's service will have its films and TV shows, along with the library it is acquiring from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, a deal closing in the coming days. That includes the "Star Wars" and Marvel superhero franchises and ABC television content.

JP Morgan analyst Alexia Quadrani predicts Disney will eventually scale up to become as big as Netflix, or even bigger by signing up 45 million US subscribers and 115 million internationally.

Quadrani cited Disney's "unmatched brand recognition, extensive premium content, and unparalleled ecosystem to market the service."

The analyst said Disney benefits from its global ecosystem that develops good customer relationships from its theme parks, hotels, cruises, and consumer products.

Wolk agreed that Disney "is in a good spot" because of its strong brand and content but predicted that consumers may be overwhelmed by the growing options.

"I think there will be a lot of churn," Wolk said. "People will subscribe to one service to watch one show, and then it becomes easy to cancel and take another."

Jennifer Aniston is one of the Hollywood stars Apple is counting on as it prepares

to launch its streaming video service (AFP Photo/Alberto E. Rodriguez)

No panic, yet

Some analysts say Netflix has no reason to panic -- yet.

"Netflix has figured this business out, they know what consumers want," said Dan Rayburn, a streaming media analyst with Frost & Sullivan.

But Rayburn said that over time, rivals may be able to leverage their user base and infrastructure to eat away at Netflix's advantage.

"What does Netflix own? Nothing," Rayburn said.

"If you're Amazon or AT&T you can give this stuff away and be a loss leader, that's the big value."

Still, he said any company that wants to challenge Netflix needs to be "quick and nimble" and that it remains to be seen if the legacy players can do that.

Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research also questioned the capability of the legacy entertainment firms to compete in the world of new media.

"We believe legacy media has missed their window to compete with Netflix (and other tech platforms) unless they are willing to truly go all-in," Greenfield said in a recent research note.

The streaming service from AT&T's Warner Media will include 

programs from HBO such as "Game Of Thrones," whose star 

Emilia Clarke is seen here (AFP Photo/Alberto E. Rodriguez)

'Innovator's dilemma'

Greenfield said that means moving the focus away from the box office and getting better control of content.

"Disney is battling a classic innovator's dilemma that makes it hard for them to truly pivot to direct-to-consumer, not to mention, they and the rest of legacy media do not really appreciate how important technology is to success in direct-to-consumer streaming," Greenfield wrote.

Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities said Apple could be the wild card, but that the iPhone maker might need to acquire a content provider like CBS or Sony Pictures to be a major player.

Apple "is definitely playing from behind the eight ball in this content arms race with Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu, and AT&T/Time Warner all going after this next consumer frontier," Ives said in a note to clients.

"While acquisitions have not been in Apple's core DNA, the clock has struck midnight for Cupertino in our opinion and building content organically is a slow and arduous path, which highlights the clear need for Apple to do larger, strategic (deals}."

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gives a keynote address, January 6, 2016 at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

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Netflix becomes 'global TV network' in 190 countries


"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

"... Then there was Steve Jobs. He was a wild card. What he did had little to do with technology, for that would have happened anyway soon enough. Instead, it had to do with the paradigm of the business of music on Earth. He freed it, and the paradigm of how music is obtained and heard will never be the same. However, Steve Jobs did basically one thing for all of you, and then he died. Do you see any kind of connecting of the dots to some of the inventors who come and give you the one thing, then leave? If he had lived, would there be more? Yes, but you’re not ready for it. Consciousness has to support what happens. ..."

Activists debunk war-torn Syria's fake news

Yahoo – AFP, Rouba El Husseini, July 14, 2018

Violent conflict has engulfed Syria since 2011, when the regime launched a
crackdown against mass demonstrations (AFP Photo/Mohamad ABAZEED)

Beirut (AFP) - Old images, fiction films and even video games have all been used to spread fake news stories in war-torn Syria -- creating all the more work for a media collective debunking them.

Protests broke out against Syria's regime in 2011 and then spun into violent conflict. All along, there has been a continuous stream of fabricated "news", helped by the rapid-fire reach of social media.

To bring clarity and truth to an increasingly complex war, 32-year-old activist and journalist Ahmad Primo founded Verify-sy, an electronic platform that monitors and fact-checks stories about the conflict.

"As reporters, journalists, and activists, we've got a responsibility," Primo tells AFP.

"What's happening today will be written down as history, and we don't want it to be fake history."

Years ago, Primo took part in protests in the northern city of Aleppo and worked at a website that published news about the popular movement.

After being arrested three times by government forces, he moved to rebel-held territory in northern Syria before eventually leaving for Turkey.

"I was arrested for publishing the truth about what's happening (in regime territory), and when I moved to opposition areas, I noticed they tamper with the truth, too," says Primo.

"My reaction was that I can't be quiet until we finish with these oppressors -- and there are many oppressors now in Syria."

In Syria, fake news is nothing new, says Primo.

Before President Bashar al-Assad, "we were raised on the idea that (his father, president) Hafez al-Assad was forever. But then he died. So what does 'forever' mean?"

'Video game'

Verify-sy, whose volunteers receive some funding from European nations, works across a range of platforms to shoot down fake news.

On Twitter, it posts screenshots of misleading new stories stamped with a thick red "X" and placed alongside correct versions branded with a green check mark.

"We consider any picture or news story that gets widely published to be something we should monitor and verify," says Primo.

For fellow fact-checker Dirar Khattab, fake news travels faster than the truth.

"Anybody who has a social media account with lots of followers turns into a news channel," the 32-year-old says.

Among the news stories Verify-sy has debunked is a picture that went viral in May, allegedly showing Israeli air strikes on Damascus.

The photo, in fact, is of Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip in 2014.

With every new military assault in Syria, the team sees its workload skyrocket -- they fact-check at least four or five stories a day, says Primo.

In June, as government troops prepared an assault on Syria's southern province of Daraa, opposition pages published footage of a voice blaring from a mosque minaret urging rebels to take up arms.

Verify-sy found it was shot in Yemen in 2015.

The platform has worked in English and Arabic for years, and recently opened a Turkish service when Ankara-backed rebels attacked a Kurdish region of northwest Syria.

"Once, there was a video clip going around on Turkish news pages showing fighters being monitored through night vision goggles," recalls Primo.

"When we verified it, we found it was footage from a video game."

Film footage

The White Helmets, rescuers who help victims of regime bombardment in rebel areas, have been at the centre of fake reports.

In one viral video clip, men presented as White Helmets are seen acting out a scene on a film set, sparking accusations the group stages shots of its rescues.

But it was later discovered that the scene was, in fact, from a film by a pro-government director smearing the White Helmets.

Primo's team relies on various tools to verify news. They use traditional methods, like checking with their reporters and sources on the ground.

But they also use Google's reverse image search to determine whether a picture portrayed as capturing one event actually dates back to an entirely different event.

Sometimes, members of the team are able to spot old photographs and video footage straightaway.

Khattab remembers how, in December 2016, he watched Syria's envoy to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, show the UN Security Council an image purportedly taken just before the regime retook Aleppo from rebels.

"I saw him hold up a picture of a soldier on all fours, with a woman stepping on his back to get off a truck," he says.

"But I knew the photo was from Iraq."

To help them in their work, the group has launched a Facebook page allowing users to post suspected phonies for them to check.

But with only six volunteers working on the project in their spare time, it's a mammoth task.

"Every day, there's fake news," says Khattab.

"If we wanted to monitor Syria news minute by minute, we'd never stop."

EU, US police cripple Islamic State media mouthpieces

Yahoo – AFP, Jo Biddle, April 27, 2018

The Islamic State group, whose flags are pictured here in northern Iraq, has lost
large swathes of its territory since a US-led alliance started an offensive in 2014

The Hague (AFP) - European and US police forces have struck at the heart of Islamic State's propaganda machine, seizing servers and "punching a hole" in its ability to spread its radical jihadist message online.

The transatlantic takedown was spread over eight countries and was coordinated by the EU's police agency in "a major operation over a two-year period", the head of Europol, Rob Wainwright, told AFP on Friday.

Wednesday and Thursday's operation was the latest in a campaign targeting in particular the Amaq news agency used by IS to broadcast claims of attacks and spread its message of jihad.

"With this takedown action, targeting major IS-branded media outlets like Amaq, but also al-Bayan radio, Halumu and Nasher news, IS's capability to broadcast and publicise terrorist material has been compromised," Europol said in a statement.

The "simultaneous multinational takedown" was coordinated by Europol from its headquarters in The Hague, and led by the Belgian federal prosecutor.

"Dozens and dozens" of police fanned out in their countries, seizing servers in the Netherlands, Canada and the United States as well as in Bulgaria, France and Romania.

'Technically challenging'

The goal was "to destabilise this apparatus by seizing and dismantling servers used to diffuse IS propaganda and to identify and arrest its administrators," the Belgian prosecutor said in a statement.

"With this groundbreaking operation we have punched a big hole in the capability of IS to spread propaganda online and radicalise young people in Europe," Wainwright said.

Britain's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was also involved in identifying "top-level domain registrars abused by IS", and the Bulgarian interior ministry confirmed "access was blocked to four servers, used for disseminating information" by Amaq in its country.

"It was so technically challenging that we were only really able to do it because of our experience in major cybercrime takedowns," Wainwright told AFP.

"We basically ran the cyber playbook against IS," he said, adding police forces around the world had spent years gathering intelligence to locate the servers being used by the jihadists.

'Squeezed' in battle and online

While a US-led international coalition has been combatting IS on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria taking back territory it had seized in 2014, nations have also warned that a multi-pronged effort was needed, including choking off funding and its online access.

"They've been squeezed on the battlefield, and now they've been really badly squeezed, badly hit, on the online platform as well," said Wainwright.

IS used Amaq to claim "every major attack since 2015 in Europe", he said, including the deadly assaults in Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin.

"The technical infrastructure which allows it to put these terrible propaganda videos and messages out has been knocked offline," Wainwright told AFP, speaking on his last day as Europol chief.

But Europol's investigation is still ongoing, and arrests could follow.

At its height, the IS media portfolio included smartphone apps for children, websites, and a glossy magazine, full of post-apocalyptic prophesies and articles declaring the "caliphate" was the only legitimate and viable home for Muslims.

But as IS's structure has crumbled, its media empire has waned too. Al-Bayan radio, which once broadcast on frequency mode and offered a wide range of statements, news and talks in several languages, had long moved online and reduced its activities.

On Friday, however, Nasher news -- the main Telegram account on which Amaq statements are posted in the region -- remained active, claiming jihadist fighters had damaged three Syrian army vehicles in fighting in southern Damascus.

"We are realistic in recognising that there still might be a retained possibility of re-establishing the network," Wainwright said, highlighting that this week's action was the third in a series of such takedowns.

"But we're getting stronger every time, and narrowing the space for them to re-create their online presence."

Sexual abuse stories from around the world pour out on social media

Yahoo – AFP, Cyril JULIEN, October 17, 2017

Alyssa Milano sparked an outpouring of tweets recounting painful personal accounts
of sexual abuse in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal (AFP Photo/CHRIS DELMAS)

Washington (AFP) - Celebrities and everyday people flooded social media with personal accounts of sexual assault and harassment Monday, responding to calls to break the culture of silence around such abuse.

The massive global response was triggered by allegations recently made public against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is accused of rape and abuse dating back decades.

People shared stories and offered support under multiple hashtags, including #MeToo in English, #balancetonporc ("Rat out your pig") in French, and #quellavoltache ("That time that") in Italian.

American actress Alyssa Milano sparked the outpouring with a simple Twitter request Sunday that women respond "me too" if they have also been sexually harassed or assaulted.

Tens of thousands of people replied, making #MeToo the top trending topic.

The posts continued to accumulate Monday, with the intensity of the social media response sharply underscoring the problem's breadth -- implicating fashion, entertainment, politics and the lives of everyday people.

Monica Lewinsky -- who was at the center of the White House sex scandal in the 1990s leading to the impeachment trial of former US President Bill Clinton -- simply tweeted the hashtag #MeToo without comment.

More celebrities chime in

Responding to Milano's call, Lady Gaga and Sheryl Crow were among those from the music world tweeting their support.

Crow shared her experience of improper behavior by a manager "on my first big tour as a backup singer."

Actress Evan Rachel Wood joined the tens of thousands of 

people sharing experiences of sexual abuse (AFP Photo/

VALERIE MACON)

"When I went to a lawyer, he told me to suck it up bc the guy could do a lot for me," Crow tweeted, "so I wrote songs about it on my first record."

Actress Evan Rachel Wood wrote of being raped more than once, writing, "I instinctually shut down. My body remembered, so it protected me. I disappeared. #metoo."

Prior to Milano's call, American fashion model Cameron Russell took to Instagram last week asking her followers to share experiences of sexual abuse in her industry, using the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse.

She has been tweeting some of the hundreds of responses, anonymous stories ranging from recent experiences to some dating back two decades -- primarily involving women, sometimes minors and occasionally men.

"Hearing about #harveyweinstein this week has sparked conversations about how widespread and how familiar his behavior is," the model and activist wrote.

"We are speaking to each other, we are speaking up, we are speaking to lawyers, and we are speaking to well-resourced reporters."

A common refrain in the accounts by people both famous and not was that no one believed the accusers when they spoke out.

"Molested by a family member. Raped as a kid and an adult. Became a drug addict and then overcame. Don't ever give up. I'm here#MeToo," wrote a woman identified as Amy Christensen on her Twitter account.

There were many sympathetic responses from men.

Vinay Ramesh, a tech entrepreneur, encouraged "all my fellow men to learn about #MeToo. The responsibility to stop sexual violence is absolutely on us."

Italian actress Asia Argento is among the women accusing disgraced Hollywood 

mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape, and took to Twitter to share other stories of 

sexual abuse (AFP Photo/VALERY HACHE)

Around the world

Italian actress Asia Argento, who has accused Weinstein of sexual abuse, offered another bombshell, saying a Hollywood director had raped her and that an Italian director had exposed himself to her when she was a minor.

"Hollywood big shot director with Napoleon complex gave me GHB (the "date rape" drug) and raped me unconscious. I was 26 years old," she tweeted using the hashtag #quellavoltache, in remarks that sparked outrage in her home country.

Argento did not name either of the men she accused.

In France, the top-trending hashtag #balancetonporc, started by journalist Sandra Muller, brought forth stories from women of being sexually harassed at work or in the street.

Muller began the hashtag recounting how her former boss had called her "my type of woman" and then commented on her breasts.

Muller -- who has been living in New York for four years and said she was "very shocked" by the Weinstein affair -- told AFP she had not "been looking for buzz" and was "overwhelmed" by the avalanche of reactions.

In Britain, Labour Party lawmaker Stella Creasy tweeted her own claims of harassment, "like millions of women & girls all around the world. Shame is on the attackers, not me."

Similar stories spread in the Arab world, from Tunisia to Egypt and Dubai, describing incidents suffered by women at work or in public spaces, and denouncing "rape culture."

More than 20 women -- a who's who of Hollywood -- have come forward to accuse Weinstein of rape, assault and sexual harassment.

Weinstein, who insists any sexual encounters were consensual, was expelled last week from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Producers Guild of America -- a film industry group representing thousands of workers -- on Monday began expulsion proceedings against Weinstein, who will have a chance to respond before the Guild makes its final decision on November 6.

Producer Harvey Weinstein attends the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood,
California in March 2014 (AFP Photo/ROBYN BECK)

Related Article:

Harvey Weinstein expelled by Oscars Academy: statement

143 mn affected in hack of US credit agency

Yahoo – AFP, Glenn CHAPMAN, September 8, 2017

Hackers penetrated the computer network of credit reporting firm Equifax, the
latest big company to report a major breach (AFP Photo/GREG BAKER)

San Francisco (AFP) - A major American credit reporting agency entrusted to safeguard personal financial information said Thursday hackers looted its system in a colossal breach that could affect nearly half the US population as well as people in Britain and Canada.

Equifax said that a hack it learned about on July 29 had the potential to affect 143 million US customers, and involved some data for British and Canadian residents.

The Atlanta-based company disclosed the breach in a release that did not explain why it waited more than a month to warn those affected about a risk of identity theft.

Filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that three high-ranking Equifax executives sold shares worth almost $1.8 million in the days after the hack was discovered.

An Equifax spokesperson told AFP the executives "had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares."

Copies of SEC filings regarding the transactions were on an investor relations page at the company's website.

Equifax collects information about people and businesses around the world and provides credit ratings used for decisions regarding loans and other financial matters.

It also touts a service protecting against identity theft.

"The fact that it is a credit company that people pay to be protected from breaches, and now they have been breached... it feels like a betrayal of trust to a point," said Aires Security chief executive Brian Markus, whose firm specializes in computer network defenses.

He considered the breach "gigantic," made worse by the fact that Equifax stores extensive personal information about people and keeps it up to date.

Markus wondered what level of responsibility Equifax is going to take if stolen information is used for fraud or identity theft, and advised people to enlist credit monitoring services to alert them to trouble.

'Strikes at the heart'

Equifax released a statement saying that it learned of the breach on July 29 and "acted immediately" with the assistance of an independent cybersecurity firm to assess the impact.

"Criminals exploited a US website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files," the statement said.

An internal investigation determined the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017, according to the company.

Equifax said the hackers obtained names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers from the database, potentially opening up victims to identity theft.

The company said credit card numbers were compromised for some 209,000 US consumers, as were credit dispute documents for 182,000 people.

Equifax vowed to work with British and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps for customers affected in those countries, but added in the release that it "found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted."

"This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do," said company chairman and chief executive Richard Smith.

"I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes."

He added that Equifax is reviewing its overall security operations.

Equifax said it had established a website to enable consumers to determine if they are affected and would be offering free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to customers.

The company is the latest to announce a major breach. Yahoo last year disclosed two separate cyber attacks which affected as many as one billion accounts.

More than 400 million accounts were affected by a breach disclosed last year at the hookup site Adult Friend Finder, and other firms affected in recent years included Heartland Payment Systems and retail giant Target.

"Every company out there is potentially susceptible in today's cyber landscape," Markus said of hacking attacks, some even by nation states.

"These incidents can put companies out of business."

Equifax shares were down more than 13 percent to $124 in after-market trades that followed news of the hack.