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Comment by nxsynonym | Hacker News Reader

While it's easy to jump on the Equifax Sucks Bandwagon (they do), I find it hard to believe that the degree earned has anything to do with this breach.

Are you absolutely certain that if their Chief Security Officer had a degree in CS that things would have been different?

Attacking someone a personal level like this is tempting in a case this serious, but it's in poor taste and will yield exactly 0 results. The data can't be un-breached, and placing blame in hindsight is unhelpful and will only escalate to more personal attacks.

Let's not pour oil on the 'Stem degrees are the only good degrees' echo chamber fire.

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It doesn't mean she didn't know what she was doing, but it certainly looks bad. A company whose CSO doesn't have a technical degree is going to have a harder time proving they took security seriously.

True. I'm just trying to caution against this turning into a witch hunt against one specific person when the entire company from top to bottom was in the wrong.

Would it be less offensive to the HN community if her degree was in Math?

And, then, given that Music is entirely dependent on mathematical principles, and Music Theory especially: What are the chances that, as an MFA in Music, she has a rock solid background in mathematics?

Does that make her choice of degree less distasteful?

Would we be having this conversation if she had no degree? (Of course not.)

> What are the chances that, as an MFA in Music, she has a rock solid background in mathematics?

Unlikely? There is no standard math requirement for music majors, and that's pretty well known.

> Would we be having this conversation if she had no degree? (Of course not.)

Yes, even more so! A chief security officer with no degree presiding over the security of a nation's credit data?! I mean, she's already under scrutiny because Equifax has been hit by three big stories in the past couple weeks demonstrating their absolute lack of concern for security: the breach, the "random pins", the admin/admin credentials.

Does it change your views if I restate this as (using just her public LinkedIn profile):

"A chief security officer with 15 years of experience and peer accolades in the fields of banking-grade security and human data management"

Typically, this is where most people don't even ask what a degree is. However, as you indicate "no degree" is unacceptable: Which domain-relevant degree programs, initiated 20+ years ago and completed 15 years ago, would satisfy your terms?

Anything remotely technical. Remember, we wouldn't be having this conversation if Equifax wasn't making embarrassing amateur mistakes with everyone's personal data. Their CSO appears incompetent.

Which qualifications does a "remotely technical" degree meet to operate security at Equifax that a "non-technical" degree does not?

You imply that Music is a non-technical degree, which is arguable, but it's certainly an Arts degree rather than a Science degree. If that's the distinction by which you draw the line, you're wrong to do so. If you reject job applicants to a technical role on that basis someday, that's more overlooked high-value opportunities for others to hire instead :)

Math is not arithmetic. What are the odds she can prove basic theorems in undergrad math like rank-nullity or intermediate value?

What are the odds someone who can prove whatever those things are can also talk about harmonic resonance equations and the practical matters of designing instrument-compatible chording arrangements, two topics entrenched heavily in mathematics (and physics, and materials science, and human usability concerns) but with a completely different specific focus?

The odds are near zero. Everyone learns their own domain. Quoting random properties of a specific subdomain of a branch of all possible learning demonstrates your knowledge, not disproves theirs.

You mean she might have had to memorize a simple formula? Such "rock solid" mathematical chops.

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