The average American had no reason to notice Apache’s post but it caught the attention of the global hacking community. Within 24 hours, the information was posted to FreeBuf.com, a Chinese security website, and showed up the same day in Metasploit, a popular free hacking tool. On March 10, hackers scanning the internet for computer systems vulnerable to the attack got a hit on an Equifax server in Atlanta, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Source: The Equifax Hack Has the Hallmarks of State-Sponsored Pros – Bloomberg

The massive breach occurred even though Equifax had invested millions in sophisticated security measures, ran a dedicated operations center and deployed a suite of expensive anti-intrusion software. The effectiveness of that armory appears to have been compromised by poor implementation and the departure of key personnel in recent years. But the company’s challenges may go still deeper. One U.S. government official said leads being pursued by investigators include the possibility that the hackers had help from someone inside the company. “We have no evidence of malicious inside activity,” the Equifax spokesperson said. “We understand that law enforcement has an ongoing investigation.”