Choicepoint reports $50M more expenses, some due to breach
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that “ChoicePoint tumbles to third-quarter loss:”
ChoicePoint Inc. went into the red in the third quarter, hurt by about $50 million in charges related to asset impairment, stock expenses and legal fees from a data breach in 2005.
Choicepoints losses are a severe outlier. As I said in March, 2005, “Why Choicepoint Resonates:
It’s now a full month since Bob Sullivan of MSNBC broke the Choicepoint story. I’d like to think back, and ask, why does this story have legs? Why are reporters still covering it?
There are a couple of important trends which combine to make this a perfect storm, attractive to editors and readers.
I still think my analysis is decent, and that any serious statistical analysis of breach costs must show “without Choicepoint” numbers.
[Update: Clarified title, which attributed all expenses to the breach.]
I’m not sure which article you read, but the one you link to clearly reports a cost of $900,000 related to the security breach.
Ooops, you’re right. I should have said “some due to breach” in the headline. I will correct this evening.