WASHINGTON–Two congressional committees have announced hearings on consecutive days over the massive data breach at Equifax, and have invited the company’s chairman and CEO to testify.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee said it has invited Equifax Chairman and CEO Richard Smith to testify on the breach on Oct. 3, with the Senate Banking Committee saying it will hold a hearing at which Smith will testify on Oct. 4.
Smith will be expected to provide some answers on how hackers came to have access to detailed records of 143 million Americans, why the company knew of the breach for five months before alerting the public, and why he and other senior executives sold stock in Equifax ahead of the breach.
Since the breach was announced, NAFCU’s EVP-Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt said in a statement that the association’s “lobbyists have been on the Hill discussing the breach's impact on credit unions and their members with lawmakers. "The goal of these meetings has been to advocate for a fair playing field as it relates to data security. Currently, financial institutions bear the brunt of regulations to protect sensitive personal financial data, while retailers and other entities that also store these data are not subject to the same standards, putting consumers at risk."