Equifax Deserves the Corporate Death Penalty(wired.com)
wired.com
Equifax Deserves the Corporate Death Penalty
https://www.wired.com/story/equifax-deserves-the-corporate-death-penalty/?mbid=social_fb
7 comments
Maybe not dissolution, but surely:
1. Such a big fine that their stock goes broke
2. Arresting the execs who took high salaries but did not take their jobs seriously enough
1. Such a big fine that their stock goes broke
2. Arresting the execs who took high salaries but did not take their jobs seriously enough
I'm not sure about arresting, but, clawing back huge amounts of the money (particularly any bonuses/options/stock but perhaps not salary).
And, as far as fines, I think just providing a very simple path whereby they are deemed responsible for losses resulting from the breach is enough. Me having to personally sue them and personally prove their responsibility in a court is a very high bar. A class action is a much lower bar, but, will result in me getting significantly diminished compensation. Some process in-between that where their guilt is established beforehand and I merely need to prove what my damages are and I can collect, say, treble damages from Equifax would fix the Equifax problem in a more egalitarian way.
And, as far as fines, I think just providing a very simple path whereby they are deemed responsible for losses resulting from the breach is enough. Me having to personally sue them and personally prove their responsibility in a court is a very high bar. A class action is a much lower bar, but, will result in me getting significantly diminished compensation. Some process in-between that where their guilt is established beforehand and I merely need to prove what my damages are and I can collect, say, treble damages from Equifax would fix the Equifax problem in a more egalitarian way.
If it can't happen to Transocean after Deepwater Horizon; If it can't happen to PG&E after San Bruno; It's not happening here.
I disagree very strongly. The results of the Deepwater Horizon were terrible, indeed, but Transocean runs many deepwater oil rigs (in addition to many other O&G ventures) with a single (huge/terrible) accident.
Equifax has a single database to protect and they failed at it, I will also argue that a company like Equifax offers minimal legitimate value and what value they suggest to offer is really an anti-value and therefore are, perhaps, eligible for such an extreme sanction.
Equifax has a single database to protect and they failed at it, I will also argue that a company like Equifax offers minimal legitimate value and what value they suggest to offer is really an anti-value and therefore are, perhaps, eligible for such an extreme sanction.
I hope you're right. Time will tell.
It was just a matter of time. Probably the number of identities breached in the US has approached 100% even before the Equifax data. I personally have seen almost all my data lost in three known breaches before Equifax. The only hope I have is that this will get government attention to start enforcing better standards on credit issuers when authenticating customers and preventing fraud.
Corporations and executives as well as stockholders must suffer. For executives there must be clear disincentives to bad management. Stockholders must learn to NOT invest in unethical companies. And employees need to learn that working for poorly run companies is a poor career choice.
Otherwise, these events will continue to occur and everyone on the inside will glad hand each other about how they got away with it.