The chairman and chief executive of Equifax, Richard F. Smith, retired on Tuesday in the aftermath of a major data breach that exposed the personal information of as many as 143 million people, the credit reporting agency said.þþTwo other top Equifax executives — the chief information officer and the chief security officer — stepped down on Sept. 14.þþEquifax, based in Atlanta, said this month that hackers had exploited an unpatched flaw in its website software to extract names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and other information about millions of people.þþThe company faced a blistering outcry from lawmakers and the public for failing to protect the sensitive data and for a response that many found lackluster. A website Equifax created to provide information on the breach was initially plagued by problems, and the company struggled to keep up with a deluge of questions from confused and alarmed consumers.þþThree Equifax executives, including its chief financial officer, John W. Gamble Jr., sold $1.8 million in company shares in the days after the breach was discovered — but before it was publicly disclosed. (Equifax has said the executives were unaware of the breach at the time of their stock sales.)
Source: NY Times
