Preliminary data probe into Experian

The data protection commissioner has lodged a preliminary inquiry into the workings of Dublin-headquartered credit information company, Experian.

The London-listed group is ranked as the world’s largest credit checking business — employing 17,000 people across 44 countries. The inquiry is based on reports that its global database has been hacked on a minimum of 80 separate occasions, leading to nearly 15,500 individual credit reports being stolen.

Although the cases are understood to be solely related to a small number of the group’s clientele based in the US, the Data Protection Commissioner is eager to see if the issue has any implications for Ireland.