Credit monitor TransUnion hires new Washington lobbyists

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Credit monitoring firm TransUnion added to its lobbying roster in Washington in early October after news of a hack at its competitor Equifax brought more government scrutiny to the industry.

TransUnion, which already had three lobbying shops under contract, added CGCN Group, a Republican firm that lobbies on a myriad of topics, according to disclosures filed with the U.S. Congress.

Congress has begun to look more closely at rules governing credit monitoring agencies after Equifax acknowledged in early September that it had been hacked in the spring, with the information of an estimated 145.5 million people breeched.

Companies like Equifax, TransUnion and Experian keep a trove of consumer data for banks and other creditors who want to know whether a customer is likely to default.

CGCN will lobby on topics including, “issues affecting data security, privacy and cyber-security,” according to the disclosure.

The three other firms employed by TransUnion also lobby on issue regarding cybersecurity and data safety, according to disclosures. TransUnion spent about $128,000 on lobbying in the first six months of the year.

Experian already maintained a large team of lobbyists, spending $690,000 in lobbying for the first six months of the year, according to disclosures.