A judge in Boston has given the state of  Massachusetts the go-head to proceed with a lawsuit against Equifax.

Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Salinger made the decision Wednesday to deny an Equifax motion to dismiss the suit, which focuses on a security breach that exposed the personal and financial data of about 147 million people, Reuters reported.

The suit says Equifax didn't safeguard its data and didn't notify those affected promptly.

Equifax didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.