In the Equifax data breach, the focus is on how regular people/consumers were affected. The breach exposed millions of people to potential identity theft and financial harm, leading to widespread distrust in Equifax and similar companies. Equifax is supposed to be responsible for protecting people’s private financial information. Lieber discusses how consumers struggled to fix errors in their credit reports and were frustrated by the industry’s response, including fees for basic security measures like credit freezes. These issues cause consumers to not fully trust Equifax with their information, but there have been issues with removing information from Equifax. The ethical tool being used in this case is Confucian because it focuses on the role of the subject being analyzed. In this Case Analysis I will argue that Confucian shows us that the Equifax breach harmed consumers by not having safe ways to protect their information and that was morally bad.

One of the main concepts of Friedman’s article is the concept of corporate social responsibility(CSR). Friedman argues that the primary responsibility of corporations is to maximize profits. These are maximized for shareholders, and other important figures in the bounds of the law. These corporations should try to maximize profits while keeping their process ethical. This concept has had a significant influence on corporate governance and decision-making processes, shaping the behavior of businesses worldwide.

When using Friedman’s concept of CSR in the Equifax case, the situation was that the company’s actions were that they prioritized profit over ethical considerations. Equifax experienced a massive data breach that leaked the personal information of millions of consumers. They were aware of the breach and delayed informing the public about it, potentially putting individuals at risk of further harm. This delay could be seen as a calculated decision to minimize negative publicity and financial losses. Delaying to tell the public was ethically wrong, protecting your profits before your loyal customers.

When Equifax did tell the public their response to the breach was handling customer questions/ worries and offering free credit monitoring (with conditions attached). This can be seen as an attempt to protect their reputation rather than address the needs of those affected by the breach. These attempts felt like putting a bandage on a large wound. There was an attempt but there needs to be serious changes in how they handled the situation. This approach aligns with Friedman’s argument that corporations should focus solely on profit maximization, even in situations where ethical considerations are at stake.

Using the ethical tool Confucian, Equifax’s actions in response to the data breach could be seen as morally disreputable. Confucian values highlight the significance of compassion and justice in every activity. Confucian moral teachings stress the significance of kindness (ren) and moral integrity (yi) in all deeds, particularly those carried out by people in positions of power or influence. Equifax’s delay in announcing the breach and its mishandling of the situation afterward could be interpreted as a violation of key Confucian values. The security breach at Equifax was not promptly disclosed, and the mishandling of the situation could be seen as going against fundamental Confucian principles.

Confucianism also emphasizes the concept of filial piety (xiao), which involves showing respect and care for one’s family and community. When it came to the Equifax case the company had a responsibility to its customers and the public to protect their personal information. By prioritizing its financial interests instead of the well-being of its customers, Equifax failed to fulfill its obligations of filial piety. The company could have tried other methods to compensate for the damage they had done by not telling the public when they should. Equifax should have come up with a plan that gives customers the option to share information about any damage they had done to them. When receiving the information they could come up with a plan on how to compensate for the damages that were dealt. The correct thing that should have been done in the beginning was to tell the public as soon as the breach happened because they did not. Equifax has developed a customer base that should not trust them.

Anshen’s research focus is on ethical leadership, where leaders utilize moral principles and values to guide their decision-making and actions. Ethical leadership values truthfulness, ethical standards, responsibility, and concern for all stakeholders, not only clients. Anshen argues that ethical leaders prioritize ethical considerations over personal gain or organizational interests and strive to create a culture of trust and transparency within their organizations. Which Equifax did not achieve, they lost the trust of some of their customers.

Using the ideas from Anshen’s article to analyze the Equifax article reveals that their leadership was not ethical when making decisions about the breach. As previously mentioned Equifax waited weeks to inform the public about the data breach that put millions of people’s personal information at risk. Equifax’s leadership choice to delay information can be seen as a lack of transparency and accountability, which were points that Anshen’s article made. Ethical leaders would have promptly and openly informed those impacted and offered them the needed assistance and resources to lessen the consequences of the breach.

Equifax needs to displace the leadership that led the choices in the delay of the breach. The leadership of this event caused a giant reputation problem for the company, people did not want to trust them after their information was released. Equifax’s reaction seemed to focus more on reducing bad publicity and financial consequences for the company, rather than authentically addressing the concerns of those impacted by the breach. If Equifax wants to change, they need to hire the correct people and make sure that whoever they hire cares about the company’s public reputation.

Using Confucianism to analyze the Equifax case, the data breach would be seen as morally unjustifiable. Integrity, honesty, and accountability in actions are core values in Confucian. Equifax’s choice of delaying information is a failure of the core values of Confucianism. The employees of the company could have shown empathy for the people affected by the breach and informed them before more damage was done to their personal information. If Equifax had used the values of Confucian things would have turned out differently.

The concept of benevolence (ren) is compassion and concern for the welfare of others. This concept would have been beneficial to Equifax when handling the data breach. Equifax was focused on their financials and not on the customer base that helped them achieve their financial goals. A way to lessen the chances of this kind of breach happening again would be to host employee training sessions. The training would be about ethics and how it applies to the company, and how ethics can change a company’s reputation and financial outcomes. If employees learned some aspects of Confucian as well then they would feel compassion towards the victims of the data breach and would feel more inclined to help customers that had their data leaked. Therefore, the right course of action for Equifax would have been to promptly disclose the breach, provide support and resources to affected individuals, and take responsibility for its actions, aligning with both Anshen’s emphasis on ethical leadership and Confucian values of integrity, honesty, and benevolence.

In general, Equifax made some bad choices in managing the data breach and the customers impacted by it. Anshen’s ethical responsibility and Friedman’s corporate social responsibility were not upheld in the Equifax case, highlighting a failure in leadership to maintain moral integrity, transparency, and accountability. From a Confucian viewpoint, Equifax’s actions should be judged according to its commitment to principles of moral integrity, benevolent leadership, empathy, and accountability. Despite receiving criticism for its lack of transparency and accountability following the breach, Equifax is also a reminder of the significance of ethical leadership in building societal harmony and trust. In the future, Equifax could make changes such as altering management, providing employee training, and showing compassion to customers. By implementing these changes, the company can overcome the impact of the data breach on its reputation and progress forward. These kinds of data breaches can become less common if Equifax implements the action above.