Equifax chief executive and chairman Richard Smith stepped down on Tuesday in the wake of a massive hack of the consumer credit rating service.
The company tapped longtime Equifax executive Paulino do Rego Barros as interim chief executive while it undertakes a search for a new leader following the massive data breach from the middle of May through July that was disclosed earlier this month.
The hack resulted in the theft of personal information from 143 million US customers.
The origins of the attack are not known, but analysts say it could have been directed by any number of cybercriminal groups or nation-states, for financial gain or for espionage purposes.
Smith would “retire” from both roles effective immediately, the company said.
“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 said.
Mark Feidler, a board member who was named non-executive chairman, said the board is “totally focused” on the cybersecurity incident.
Equifax disclosed the breach on Sept. 7, saying hackers obtained names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers from the database, potentially opening up victims to identity theft.
The company said credit card numbers were compromised for some 209,000 US consumers, as were credit dispute documents for 182,000 people.
The breach is seen as one of the worst ever, because of the sensitivity of the data leaked and the potential for identity theft.
A regulatory filing on the shakeup on Tuesday also said that Smith would waive any right to an annual bonus under his contract and would provide “reasonable assistance” to the company without compensation for 90 days.
However, US Senator Elizabeth Warren said Smith’s departure does not diminish the need for answers about the breach and its consequences.
“I’ve called for Equifax executives to be held accountable for their role in failing to stop this data breach and hiding it from the public for 40 days,” the lawmaker said in a statement. “It’s not real accountability if the CEO resigns without giving back a nickel in pay and without publicly answering questions.”
Warren said she still expects Smith to appear before congressional hearings on the incident.
Last week, Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer stepped down as the company began its review of the hack.
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