Report: Equifax expected to reach $650M settlement over data breach

Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting agencies in the U.S., is expected to pay around $650 million over its 2017 data breach that affected 145 million people, the New York Times reports.

The big picture: The stolen data has yet to show up on the so-called dark web, which has added to suspicions that a nation-state may have been behind the attack. Equifax was already hit with a £500,000 fine from its data breach last year, from the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Reality check, per the NYT: "A $650 million payment would be in line with what the company expected. In a recent financial filing, Equifax said it had set aside $690 million to cover the anticipated legal costs of the hacking."

Go deeper: After Equifax's mega-breach, nothing changed