TalkTalk boss sees salary almost triple as MPs urge fines for hacking breaches
Companies should be fined if they fail to guard against cyber attacks, MPs have recommended in the wake of last year’s TalkTalk hack. The report was published as it was revealed TalkTalk boss, Baroness Dido Harding, saw her pay rise to £2.8m from £1m. The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry made a number of recommendations, but stopped short of suggesting that criminal proceedings should apply to employees who fail to protect people’s data. The committee also recommended that CEOs’ pay should be linked to effective cyber security; that it should be easier for consumers to get compensation if they are the victim of a hack; and that the Government should conduct a public awareness campaign about online and telephone scams or phishing.
Companies must have robust strategies and processes in place, backed by adequate resources and clear lines of accountability, to stay one step ahead in a sophisticated and rapidly evolving environment.
Committee chairman Jesse Norman
Companies should also be fined for delays in reporting breaches into their systems. Committee chair Jesse Norman said: “Our report today I think is a giant wake up call for industry generally because what that showed (the TalkTalk hack) is that even very sophisticated companies in the telecoms area were not invulnerable to attacks.” In the USA, the Securities and Exchange Commission has required publicly traded companies to inform regulators about cyber attacks since 2012. The internet service provider TalkTalk, which has around 4 million customers, was hacked in October last year. The company initially described the attack as “significant”, but later said only 157,000 people’s details had been compromised.
Failure to prepare for or learn from cyber-attacks, and failure to inform and protect consumers, must draw sanctions serious enough to act as a real incentive and deterrent.
Source | Yahoo
