Equifax ousts CEO in wake of cybersecurity breach

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Equifax.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Equifax has ousted CEO Richard Smith following the credit reporting agency's announcement earlier this month of a massive security breach, The Associated Press reports. Equifax's response to the breach, which affects an estimated 44 percent of the U.S. population, has been heavily criticized.

Additionally, the Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether or not three Equifax executives who sold $1.8 million in stock just days after the breach broke insider trading laws. Smith served as CEO since 2005; Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. will serve as interim CEO.

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Jeva Lange
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.