Equifax execs won't get bonuses after massive data breach
NEW YORK - Equifax's (EFX) massive data breach cost millions of Americans their peace of mind, and now it's costing the crediting reporting company's management some money.
Interim CEO Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. said Friday that top executives will not receive their annual bonus because of the leak, which Equifax disclosed in September.
"Due to the impact of cybersecurity incident, we have decided that the Equifax senior leadership team, my direct reports and I will receive no incentive compensation in 2017," he said in a conference call to discuss the breach's financial impact.
Equifax has been hit hard by the attack, which exposed people's names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers, among other confidential information. A day after posting sizable profit declines due to a massive data breach, Equifax says it expects to incur related costs of between $60 million to $75 billion in the current quarter.
The Atlanta company reported a 27 percent slump in third-quarter profit, largely due to a hack that exposed the personal information of 145 million Americans. Equifax shares have fallen 24 percent since the incident.
Equifax is trying to keep clients from fleeing and also outlined ways in which it is strengthening security. It revealed Thursday that it received subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to trading in company shares by executives around the time of the breach.
Former Equifax CEO Richard Smith, who left the company shortly after the breach was revealed, admitted to lawmakers last month that customer data compromised during the months-long attack had not been encrypted. He blamed the hack on a combination of failed technology and human error.
Equifax has taken steps to improve its data systems and heighten the company's focus on security, Do Rego Barros Jr. said Friday,
"Data security will be a mandatory responsibility for all Equifax employees whether or not they're members of our security or IT teams," he said.
