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Three anonymous sources revealed to Bloomberg that Equifax knew of a data breach almost five months earlier than it publicly disclosed. The company has said that the March breach was not related to the July hack, but one of the sources said the incidents involve the same intruders.

The previously reported July breach revealed the personal information of 143 million Americans.

According to Bloomberg's report, Equifax hired security firm Mandiant to investigate both attacks. The company may have believed the initial breach was limited and under control before it detected the more serious breach on July 29. Investigators later discovered that consumers' information was taken in mid-May.

The new revelation not only questions whether Equifax's investigations were sufficient, but also whether executives who recently sold large amounts of stocks did so knowing that the breaches would damage the company.

In a member-only call on Monday, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler said he expects hearings on the Equifax breach in both the House and Senate in the coming weeks. NAFCU will continue to advocate for a national data security standard to ensure consumers' private information is safeguarded and financial institutions are not on the hook for other companies' mismanagement.