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Equifax acquires TrustedID

The data giant sought (and bought) the Silicon Valley identity protection startup.
Written by Andrew Nusca, Contributor
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Equifax announced this afternoon that it acquired TrustedID, a U.S. specialist in identity protection.

The terms were not disclosed, but AllThingsD's Kara Swisher pegs the price at about $30 million. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup will become part of Equifax Personal Solutions, its direct-to-consumer business unit.

Equifax's interest in the smaller company is threefold: its technology is robust, its existing partner relationships (e.g. its exclusive deal with AARP) are coveted and Equifax's own credit and identity products could use reinforcement. TrustedID's data protection abilities reach far, from social media to snail mail.

"In today's digital economy and culture, Americans are becoming increasingly aware of identity, reputation and privacy issues," TrustedID chief executive Scott Mitic said in a statement.

Equifax has previously indicated that it sees the personal data security market as a growth opportunity, and has made investments—in both acquisitions (such as Anakam in 2010) and product development—accordingly.

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