Equifax board set up examination of official stock sales after information breach.
Equifax Inc. told the U.S. House of Representatives in a letter made open on Friday that its directorate formed a special board to revaluate stock sales by company administrators weeks before the credit-reporting service revealed an enormous information breach.
Three senior administrators including the company’s CFO sold $1.8 million US in shares three days after the company learned on July 29 hackers had breached individual information for up to 143 million Americans.
Equifax reported the breach openly over a month later, on Sept. 7. The news started public clamor, government investigations, a sharp drop in its share cost and an administration shake-up.
Equifax attorney Theodore Hester said in a letter dated Thursday to individuals from Congress declaring the review that the company “takes these matters seriously” and has held lawyers.
Because of inquiries regarding whether the stock sales damaged insider trading laws, Equifax has said the administrators did not think about the breach when making their sales, which were not prearranged. The company did not instantly comment on Friday.
According to regulatory filings, CFO John W. Bet Jr sold shares on Aug. 1 for $946,000 US, while Joseph Loughran III, leader of U.S. data solutions, sold $584,000 US in stock around the same time. Rodolfo Ploder, president of Equifax’s workforce solution business, sold $250,000 US worth of stock on Aug. 2.
Equifax stock fell 38 cents to close at $105.99 US on Friday. The issue is down more than 25 percent from early September.
The breach has prompted examinations by different government and state agencies, including a criminal investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Justice.
The breach has just prompted the takeoffs of Equifax’s chief information officer and chief security officer.
Cyber researchers said, the hack, among the biggest at any point recorded, was particularly disturbing because of the lavishness of the data uncovered, which included names, birthdays, addresses and Social Security and driver’s permit numbers.