The agency harkened back to the long delay between vulnerability discovery and the Equifax breach.

The agency says the warning applies to future vulnerabilities too.

The agency also tightened security requirements for financial institutions.

"We need to rethink how consumer data is stewarded," one customer advocate said.

It could take years for the cases to play out in court.

The cybersecurity community and Capitol Hill are watching closely.

The resolutions end state claims filed in connection with the 2017 data breach.

John Demers says the Equifax indictment shows that hackers' obfuscation attempts aren't working.

At one point Justice Department personnel considered issuing a subpeona for Equifax documents.

The charges mark an escalation in DOJ’s long-running pressure campaign to try to hold alleged Chinese state-sponsored hacking to account.