Cyber security a ‘board level’ issue, says TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding
TalkTalk’s chief executive Dido Harding has accepted full responsibility for the hack on its systems earlier this year, claiming that cyber security is a board issue.
The telecoms chief made the claim in front of House of Commons, Culture, Media and Sports Committee. Harding maintained that no one individual was responsible for the attack, saying that it was “a board level issue not an individual issue below."
Speaking to the committee Dido said: "It really does come back to the CEO and the board: was there sufficient oversight in terms of the security policies, the resourcing of the technology team to implement those policies and the knowledge and understanding of best practice?
Following the security breach TalkTalk confirmed that a total of 156,959 customers had their personal details accessed by the hackers. Around 15,656 bank account numbers and sort codes were stolen.
Also brought up in the line of questioning was the delay in informing customers of the hack. Harding told the committee that Scotland Yard advised the company to keep the attack a secret so that detectives could carry out their investigation and catch the hackers.