The Reason:
The main reason behind the suspension of the contract was, Equifax disclosed last month that it has been affected by massive hack. The hack resulted the exposure of the personal information of around half US population. This has been the real concern for the IRS and many others, which effected the termination of the contract.
During the time period of the suspension of the contract, IRS is planning to review the security of the Equifax systems. This move will deny millions of Americans from creating new accounts to get access to their online records over that time period.
Spokesperson’s Statement:
The agency’s spokesperson Matthew Leas said. “The contract suspension is being taken as a precautionary step as the IRS continues its review”
Equifax revealed that a hack resulted the loss/leakage of the record of over 145 million people. The information lost in this hack were the names, social security numbers, date of birth and addresses as well.
Equifax’s Statement:
"We remain confident that we are the best party to perform the services required in this contract. We are engaging IRS officials to review the facts and clarify available options."