5 ms·
Because you want to teach them a lesson, not put them out of business.
by shortandsweet 7y ago
Because you want to teach them a lesson, not put them out of business.
- ericd 7y agoWhy not?
- MereInterest 7y agoAgain, why? The lesson is for the industry as a whole to learn, not for an individual company.
- freeflight 7y agoThat's like saying society has a whole lot to learn but not individual humans.
- dogsgobork 7y agoPutting them out of business would teach them a lesson, one perhaps other companies might actually learn as well.
- DaniloDias 7y agoAn eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
- bbrian 7y agoI'm not sure that applies in the free market. It seems less scofflaw companies aren't offered the chance to serve the same markets because criminal companies are let off too lightly.
- chii 7y agocorporations are not people. They don't "learn lessons". They respond to incentives. If this breach didn't cost them dearly, but they still reaped any reward from having had the breach (e.g., saved money on security, and opt to pay the fine instead when they are breached), they will do it again in the future. A fine is meant to deter as well as punish. If the fine is too small, it won't deter. And certainly if less than the profits earned, it can't punish, nor deter.
- skybrian 7y agoCorporations don't learn lessons, but people do. You want managers arguing for budget to prioritize security, or lawyers arguing for legal stuff, to be able to use this as a compelling example. Losing $650 million is perhaps not quite as compelling a story as losing billions, or a smoking hole where a company used to be (as in Enron and Arthur Andersen). But it's a pretty big chunk of change. I have no experience making such arguments, but it seems plausible that it will be remembered for a while at Equifax and their competitors, at least? I'm doubtful that people respond to such incentives rationally. It probably has more to do with how well the storyteller tells the story. And whether the thing they're selling actually works well for improving security seems pretty hit-and-miss, too.
- kevin_thibedeau 7y agoInstalling government regulators on the board would teach their C-levels a lesson.
- paulddraper 7y agoI won't lose sleep about either one of those. Primarily, I want my justice system to administer justice.