This year, Equifax suffered a major data breach that exposed sensitive information of millions of individuals. Earlier this month, the credit reporting agency revealed that it had suffered a major hack. Due to this, we learned that CEO of Equifax is stepping down.
This major breach trigged a lot of criticism in the industry. In a statement, now-former CEO Richard Smith states that it’s been an “honor” serving on the job. Prior to stepping down, Smith has been working in the position at Equifax since 2005.
“The cybersecurity incident has affected millions of consumers, and I have been completely dedicated to making this right,” Smith said in the statement. “At this critical juncture, I believe it is in the best interests of the company to have new leadership to move the company forward,” Smith added.
Equifax stated that it has put Paulino do Rego Barros, Jr. as interm CEO as it searches for a permanent replacement for the position. Earlier this month, two other executives stepped down, as well as chief information officer and chief security officer.