Seattle software tech arrested in Capital One data breach affecting 106 million

Published July 30, 2019 12:51am ET



A Seattle software engineer who used the screen name “erratic” has been arrested in the theft of account information on 106 million Capital One credit card applicants and customers.

While the capture of Paige Thompson, 33, differentiates the case from the thefts at credit bureau Equifax in 2017 and hotel chain Marriott a year later, which together affected hundreds of millions of people, it’s still likely to increase pressure on Congress to pass a federal privacy standard. The Equifax breach prompted fiery congressional hearings and the departure of then-CEO Richard Smith, as public ire grew over the realization that identification data including birth dates and Social Security numbers that are difficult or impossible to alter had been taken.

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