Read the mini-case below and write a recommendation plan on how you would resolve this case and apply course concepts to this situation (50 marks)- Equifax faced a large ethical scandal when hackers stole data from more than 148 million consumers. After the fact, the research found that the systems Equifax was using were old, and their security systems were out-of-date and could have been updated to prevent the breach. This is an example of business ethics where small businesses and big companies alike have a duty to ensure the are following guidelines for a safe work environment and safe opportunities for consumers.

Beyond the breach itself, Equifax didn't report the stolen data for two months. This means that for two months, consumers who had their data stolen were walking around, with no idea there could be any issues. This lead the Equifax CEO to step down, and nobody knows where the data is, or who has it. The ethics in this situation focus on honesty and integrity, and the best ethical choice would have been for Equifax to immediately admit that something had gone wrong.

Equifax has worked to right the wrong by paying out consumers whose data could be compromised. But unfortunately, there is only so much they can do at this point. Consumers expect business ethics from Equifax and other financial institutions that keep sensitive data to be up-to-date on security measures and do their due diligence to make sure data is kept safe.