CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR: “Equifax Inc. Chief Executive Richard Smith will testify in front of U.S. senators next month about the company’s handling of a data breach that compromised the personal information of millions of Americans.
At an Oct. 4 hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr. Smith will have to answer questions about the breach, which it revealed publicly on Sept. 7.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday [9-20-17] that hackers began digging through the credit-reporting company’s computer network in March and remained undetected until an internal security team discovered the breach in late July. Equifax had previously disclosed that data belonging to approximately 143 million Americans was potentially accessed in May.
The attack, which is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is one of the most significant data breaches given the scope of the information disclosed: names, addresses, birthdays and Social Security numbers. Customers and regulators have raised questions on whether Equifax took sufficient measures to protect such sensitive information.
Shares in Equifax rose 0.7% to $96.66 in afternoon trading. The company has lost nearly a third of its market capitalization since disclosing the breach earlier this month.
The Senate committee is also expected to hear from another public company CEO that week—Wells Fargo Chief Executive Timothy Sloan. Mr. Sloan is slated to appear before senators on Oct. 3 to revisit the scandal over the bank’s sales practices one year after the fact.”
-Imani Moise, “Equifax CEO to Testify at Senate Hearing on Data Breach,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 21, 2017 02:04pm