TalkTalk chief signals change after cyber attack

Daniel Thomas reports:

The damaging cyber attack on TalkTalk’s website last year will lead to a fundamental change in how the company operates, says chief executive Dido Harding, who signalled that chasing customers with low-cost offers would be tempered with greater responsibility.

[…]

“It goes a lot deeper than security,” she says. “TalkTalk’s culture is one of a start-up . . . new services, desire to innovate, move fast. The company has fewer people focused on established systems. The business needs to mature in the way it operates. We are running a much bigger, established business.”

The attack was a tough experience for Baroness Harding, who was forced to provide regular public updates for customers while the company investigated the extent of the data breach.

Behind the scenes, she was having to deal with hostage negotiators after personally receiving a ransom demand — an experience she describes as “chilling”.

Read more on FT. It’s the kind of article that we saw from Bob Carr after the Heartland Payment Systems breach – some real self-reflection about what the company learned that could become a positive going forward.