If data is the new oil, then we’re looking at pelicans soaked in crude on a beach.

When an oil tanker goes down or an oil rig explodes, dumping millions of gallons of petroleum into the ocean, we clean up the spill, we look for first causes, and we hold the company — even individuals — responsible for the harm they’ve caused to a shared resource: the environment we all live in.

When a company like Equifax commits gross negligence for failing to secure our data, and a breach pumps 147.9 million records onto the internet, the company’s directors keep their jobs, their cyber insurance policy pays out, and the company posts a profit.