Equifax says CIO, Chief Security Officer to exit after hack

NEW YORK: Equifax said two of its senior executives are leaving as the credit-reporting company faces mounting public anger for losing data on 143 million Americans in one of the biggest cyber attacks in history.
The firm’s chief information and chief security officers are retiring immediately, the Atlanta-based company said on Friday in a statement that didn’t name the individuals. Mark Rohrwasser was named interim CIO and Russ Ayres was appointed interim CSO, reporting to Rohrwasser, according to the statement.
Equifax has faced withering criticism since disclosing September 7 that hackers stole sensitive data —including Social Security numbers, birth dates and other identifying information —for much of the adult US population. Lawmakers have since threatened to boost oversight of the industry, whose knowledge of consumers can, in the wrong hands, be used for identity theft and fraud. The Federal Trade Commission even took the rare step of announcing a probe, citing the “intense public interest and the potential impact”.

David Webb, who joined the company in January 2010, was previously the firm’s chief information officer, according to Equifax’s annual regulatory filing in February.