With Facebook responding to its own security concerns, the story of Equifax’s massive security breach (148 million people’s data exposed) has fallen by the wayside. However, after forcing its CEO to resign and catching a break when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped its probe against the company, the credit reporting bureau has finally named a new CEO, former private equity executive Mark Begor.
Equifax has been floundering since the security breach happened — its response was criticized, it was revealed that executives may have engaged in insider trading, and a glitch-ridden app frustrated people trying to lock their files — and in order to rebuild its reputation, Equifax has made what it hopes will be a promising hire. The New York Times has Begor’s statement:
“The team has made meaningful progress in the last several months to address a number of well-publicized issues. I will prioritize continuing our team’s efforts to communicate transparently and restore confidence with consumers, customers, shareholders and policymakers.”
Bergor previously was the managing director of a private equity firm. Prior to that, he spent more than three decades at General Electric where he led the company’s credit card business. Whether or not this move will restore faith in the credit reporting company remains to be seen, but those millions of consumers who saw their personal data exposed in the Equifax breach may not be so quick to forgive.
(Via New York Times)