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Opinion: Equifax CEO hired a music major as the company’s chief security officer
Market Watch ^
| 9-15-17
| Brett Arends
Posted on 09/15/2017 12:49:39 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
When Congress hauls in Equifax CEO Richard Smith to grill him, it can start by asking why he put someone with degrees in music in charge of the companys data security.
And then they might also ask him if anyone at the company has been involved in efforts to cover up Susan Mauldins lack of educational qualifications since the data breach became public.
It would be fascinating to hear Smith try to explain both of those extraordinary items.
If those events dont put the final nails in his professional coffin, accountability in the U.S. is officially dead.
Equifax Chief Security Officer Susan Mauldin has a bachelors degree and a master of fine arts degree in music composition from the University of Georgia. Her LinkedIn professional profile lists no education related to technology or security.
This is the person who was in charge of keeping your personal and financial data safe and whose apparent failings have put 143 million of us at risk from identity theft and fraud. It was revealed this week that the massive data breach came due to a software vulnerability that was known about, and should have been patched, months earlier.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: equifax; infosysh1b; music; richardsmith; security; securitybreach; susanmauldin
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To: rktman
Sounds like theres treble brewing. Guess she's not all about that bass.
21
posted on
09/15/2017 12:59:43 PM PDT
by
dfwgator
To: ThinkingBuddha
Not anymore. H-1b killed all of that self taught Teach yourself < insert computer language here > in 5 Minutes types.. Americans are being phased out.
22
posted on
09/15/2017 1:00:40 PM PDT
by
central_va
(I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
To: dfwgator
This stuff all strikes a chord with me.
23
posted on
09/15/2017 1:01:03 PM PDT
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius available at Amazon.)
To: Red Badger
She went to UGA, ‘Nuff Said.
24
posted on
09/15/2017 1:01:54 PM PDT
by
dfwgator
To: ThinkingBuddha
I call b#ll$hit on this. Some of the best software people, do not have any college degree.I agree. Millions of people, myself included, have college degrees that are completely unrelated to the careers we eventually succeeded at.
25
posted on
09/15/2017 1:02:23 PM PDT
by
pgkdan
(The Silent Majority Stands With TRUMP!)
To: DoughtyOne
Her responsibility was to have a proficient security team and infrastructure. A brilliant geek isn’t necessarily the best individual for that role.
26
posted on
09/15/2017 1:02:28 PM PDT
by
Gene Eric
(Don't be a statist!)
To: afraidfortherepublic
I guess there weren’t any white males with EE or CompSci degrees available.
27
posted on
09/15/2017 1:03:10 PM PDT
by
central_va
(I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
To: SeeSharp
..But... but... music is like math, right? Well, anything on a computer is ones and zeros...
28
posted on
09/15/2017 1:03:57 PM PDT
by
SGCOS
To: afraidfortherepublic
Not to defend Equifax but the pedigree of the management team is irrelevant BS. Who did she hire to do the work, what did they do or not do, that is more important. And, despite best efforts, things happen.
29
posted on
09/15/2017 1:04:40 PM PDT
by
Reno89519
(PRESIDENT TRUMP, KEEP YOUR PROMISES! NO AMNESTY AND BUILD THAT WALL.)
To: PIF
30
posted on
09/15/2017 1:06:03 PM PDT
by
hal ogen
(First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?)
To: afraidfortherepublic; Bon mots
Hiring practices in America went extra stupid from 2008 and beyond.
Which coincides with.....
31
posted on
09/15/2017 1:07:08 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: DoughtyOne
Isnt the proof in the pudding here?I hope not! Its bad enough when a little pudding spills on nice clean math homework....but that would really be too far.
To: All
To play devils advocate, Mauldin does at least have 14 years private-sector experience since getting her degrees.
Awful nice to mention that near the end of the article.
Obviously one MUST be approved by our university system to be qualified for important jobs. If we're going to get worked up about the premise here, then many of us are hypocrites. To say on one hand that the universities are indoctrination centers and have little to do with education, then complain that somebody without a degree isn't qualified simply by that measure, is silly.
If she isn't qualified, make a better argument than whether she has a stupid piece of paper from a stupid liberal indoc facility.
To: central_va
34
posted on
09/15/2017 1:08:57 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: Reno89519
Really? No technical education means she has to trust everything her subordinates tell her. She has no way of know intuitively when she is being Bullshitted. And man there must have been a lot BS slung around Equifax.
35
posted on
09/15/2017 1:09:08 PM PDT
by
central_va
(I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
To: afraidfortherepublic
I know a music major. He’s not qualified to walk a seeing eye dog. Not too clever at music either. But you can’t judge them all by one!
To: Gene Eric
Agreed. And the music-related disparagement is idiotic. I wonder what her opinion was on the whole Napster thing and the sharing of music intellectual property? It may offer some insights into what data she considers worthy of extra protection, and what data she can be cavalier about.
IT professionals would be more likely to focus on the integrity of the entire architecture, where others may see security on a case-by-case (or data type by data type) basis.
I'm just speculating here...
-PJ
37
posted on
09/15/2017 1:10:08 PM PDT
by
Political Junkie Too
(The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
To: Buttons12
[ Not too clever at music either. ]
So, he’s into rap? (sorry, couldn’t resist)
38
posted on
09/15/2017 1:11:50 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
To: central_va
I disagree. Managers are hired for management, hire security people to do the hands on security work. I’ve worked in IT since my Navy days, since ‘82. Hire people for the jobs they are to do. She was not hired to set up a firewall, she was hired to build a team of experts to do the work.
39
posted on
09/15/2017 1:11:50 PM PDT
by
Reno89519
(PRESIDENT TRUMP, KEEP YOUR PROMISES! NO AMNESTY AND BUILD THAT WALL.)
To: DoughtyOne
while I understand your point, allow me to present the counter point that I always run into:
They are expensive (credentialed individuals)
Hardware is expensive
Process improvement is expensive.
It has been my experience that the main reason that cyber security programs do not get implemented is because the Sr leadership / board do not want to invest the time, effort or money.
40
posted on
09/15/2017 1:11:51 PM PDT
by
taxcontrol
(Stupid should hurt)
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