WASHINGTON, Jan 26: ChoicePoint, the largest US company in the field of gathering consumer financial data for businesses, agreed on Thursday to pay a $15 million penalty for a data breach that exposed the personal records of 163,000 people.

The US Federal Trade Commission announced the settlement with ChoicePoint, which will pay a $10 million civil fine and $5 million in restitution to consumers who may have been hit by identity thieves following the breach.—AFP