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They were incredibly negligent and nepotistic. Their head of security, Susan Mauldin, had zero security or computer skills - she was a music teacher. https://

They were incredibly negligent and nepotistic. Their head of security, Susan Mauldin, had zero security or computer skills - she was a music teacher. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/equifax-ceo-hired-a-music-major-as-the-companys-chief-security-officer-2017-09-15 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/equifax-ceo-hired-a-music-...

iliketosleep 7y ago
It appears that the higher you go up the corporate ladder, the more it is about connections rather than actual knowledge, to the point that knowledge carries almost zero weight and connections are everything. A lot of companies are like this, and most of them (including Equifax) are still going strong. Meritocracy at the bottom and nepotism at the top seems to be the deal. Anyway, the last line of the article sums it up well: "Everything about this fiasco just gets more and more surreal."
- pbhjpbhj 7y ago
  Look at UK politicians as an example, they usually have no specialist training for their brief (the government department they direct) and often jump from one section to another. There's a sense in which they have control of entire industry sectors, some higher learning or extended experience should really be required.
  - iliketosleep 7y ago
    I think it's because their job is to make purely political decisions, leading to decisions that on the surface actually look insane.
- asdfman123 7y ago
  This is the way the corporate world has always worked. The problem is when this world collides with software, where actually knowing what the hell you're doing matters.
  - iliketosleep 7y ago
    > This is the way the corporate world has always worked. To an extent, yes, but much more so now than in the past few decades. In the past, those who were senior exectives responsible for technical aspects of the company would usually be very strong technically, having worked their way up from more junior positions and gaining management training along the way.
  - cameronbrown 7y ago
    Knowing what you're doing always mattered, but you don't need to be a qualified engineer to deploy software, unlike say, a building. I maintain that we need the title of 'software engineer' to really mean something, and for someone in a position like Chief Security Officer to be qualified as such. If a bridge collapsed due to the person responsible being a music teacher then you can bet there'd be jail time.
donretag 7y ago
She graduated with a degree in music, so what? How many of your technical co-workers and colleagues have degrees in non-STEM fields? Probably more than a few. How many of us with actual CS degrees learned about security? I have both a BS/MS in CS, from a top school, and I never once had a class on security. Don't think one was even offered. The question is what was her experience prior to being promoted? I have not kept track of this "scandal" since it started, but someone's education should not be a major factor. All that said, she was pretty bad at her job.
- non-entity 7y ago
  > The question is what was her experience prior to being promoted? I agree this is the real question. If someone doesn't have a related degree, but has the experience, that's one thing, however I've seen a handful of examples where someone with both and unrelated degree and barely, if any, relevant experience get high up technical positions (I assume mostly because of knowing the right people in a company where tech is a cost center)
g051051 7y ago
She had 15 years of experience in increasingly senior positions. You have no idea what additional training or certifications she achieved. And the early Bloomberg reporting that detailed the hack painted her in a very positive light, trying to do the right things under pressure from more senior "leadership" to cut costs and speed things up.

iliketosleep 7y ago

It appears that the higher you go up the corporate ladder, the more it is about connections rather than actual knowledge, to the point that knowledge carries almost zero weight and connections are everything. A lot of companies are like this, and most of them (including Equifax) are still going strong. Meritocracy at the bottom and nepotism at the top seems to be the deal. Anyway, the last line of the article sums it up well: "Everything about this fiasco just gets more and more surreal."

pbhjpbhj 7y ago
Look at UK politicians as an example, they usually have no specialist training for their brief (the government department they direct) and often jump from one section to another. There's a sense in which they have control of entire industry sectors, some higher learning or extended experience should really be required.
- iliketosleep 7y ago
  I think it's because their job is to make purely political decisions, leading to decisions that on the surface actually look insane.
asdfman123 7y ago
This is the way the corporate world has always worked. The problem is when this world collides with software, where actually knowing what the hell you're doing matters.
- iliketosleep 7y ago
  > This is the way the corporate world has always worked. To an extent, yes, but much more so now than in the past few decades. In the past, those who were senior exectives responsible for technical aspects of the company would usually be very strong technically, having worked their way up from more junior positions and gaining management training along the way.
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  Knowing what you're doing always mattered, but you don't need to be a qualified engineer to deploy software, unlike say, a building. I maintain that we need the title of 'software engineer' to really mean something, and for someone in a position like Chief Security Officer to be qualified as such. If a bridge collapsed due to the person responsible being a music teacher then you can bet there'd be jail time.

donretag 7y ago

She graduated with a degree in music, so what? How many of your technical co-workers and colleagues have degrees in non-STEM fields? Probably more than a few. How many of us with actual CS degrees learned about security? I have both a BS/MS in CS, from a top school, and I never once had a class on security. Don't think one was even offered. The question is what was her experience prior to being promoted? I have not kept track of this "scandal" since it started, but someone's education should not be a major factor. All that said, she was pretty bad at her job.

non-entity 7y ago
> The question is what was her experience prior to being promoted? I agree this is the real question. If someone doesn't have a related degree, but has the experience, that's one thing, however I've seen a handful of examples where someone with both and unrelated degree and barely, if any, relevant experience get high up technical positions (I assume mostly because of knowing the right people in a company where tech is a cost center)

g051051 7y ago

She had 15 years of experience in increasingly senior positions. You have no idea what additional training or certifications she achieved. And the early Bloomberg reporting that detailed the hack painted her in a very positive light, trying to do the right things under pressure from more senior "leadership" to cut costs and speed things up.