Equifax chairman leaves after data breach outrage

Equifax chairman and chief executive Richard Smith is resigning with immediate effect after a data breach left the details of 143 million Americans exposed to hackers.

But Smith won't be leaving empty-handed.

While the embattled credit agency searches for a permanent replacement, Smith will carry on as an unpaid adviser. He will collect $18.4m (£13.7m) in retirement benefits and possibly millions more, including lifetime health coverage, Bloomberg reports, citing a regulatory filing.

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Equifax manages 1,200 times more data than the Library of Congress, The Washington Post says. The company was the target of a massive data breach between May and July that exposed credit card details, driving licence details, social security numbers and the addresses of millions of Americans. An estimated 400,000 Brits are also affected, the BBC says.

Paulino do Rego Barros, who heads the firm’s Asia Pacific division, will take over as interim chief executive. Mark Feidler will serve as non-executive chairman.

Chief information officer David Webb and chief security officer Susan Mauldin left Equifax just after the company disclosed the data breach, which is being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission. The company faces dozens of legal claims.

“Equifax has drawn outrage from lawmakers and scrutiny from regulators since Sept. 7, when it disclosed one of the biggest cyber attacks in history,” Bloomberg reports.

Equifax shares have fallen by 27% since the hack was announced, says Bloomberg.