Fresh off a financial settlement over its 2017 data breach that affected roughly half the U.S. population, Equifax is forging ahead with a $1 billion-plus investment in a new security plan -- and CISO Jamil Farshchi was eager to tout the credit reporting agency's progress so far in a session this week at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. Farshchi, who was hired as CISO in February 2018 after previously helping Home Depot clean up its security practices following its own breach, said that moving forward, the company is focusing on three key pillars: assurance in its data and controls, automation and generating security awareness among senior leadership, as well as lower-level employees, who will be scored on their security practices. Farshchi asserted that Equifax has already succeeded in improving its corporate culture, controls and compliance, while also partnering with customers and industry organizations to share lessons learned.