Capital One replaces security chief after data breach

Capital One has replaced its cybersecurity chief four months after the company disclosed a massive data breach involving the theft of sensitive data on more than 100 million customers.

A spokesperson for Capital One confirmed the news in an email to TechCrunch.

“Michael Johnson is moving from his role as chief information security officer to serve as senior vice president and special advisor dedicated to cyber security,” said the spokesperson.

Mike Eason, who served as chief information officer for the company’s commercial banking division, has replaced Johnson as interim cybersecurity chief while a permanent replacement is found.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

Capital One continues to assess the aftermath from its July data breach, which saw a hacker take millions of credit card application data between 2005 and 2019 from customers applying for credit cards. The data leaked also included names, addresses, postal addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth and self-reported income, as well as credit scores and credit limits.

Paige Thompson, a Seattle resident, was taken into custody by the FBI following the disclosure, accused of breaking into the banking giant’s cloud-based environment. Subsequent research showed that the alleged hacker and former Amazon Web Services employee may have obtained sensitive corporate data on other companies, including Vodafone, Ford and Ohio’s Department of Transportation.

It was reported this week that Thompson would be released from custody, pending trial.

Capital One breach also hit other major companies, say researchers